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THE 



SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
OPPOSITION LINE; 



OR, 



SCIENCE AND DIVINE REVELATION 



SPIRITUAL MANIFESTATIONS. 



(5 

ELD. Z. CAMPBELD, : ~G> 

M 

FORMERLY A LECTURER OX THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SUBJ&CT-4 AN 

EXPERIENCED PATHETIZER AND SUCCESSFUL EXPERIMENTER 

IN THESE OCCULT MYSTERIES 



" And I ii¥ three unclean spirit*, like frogs, come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of 
the mouth of the beast, and out of the month of the false prophet For they are the spirits of 
devils working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth, and of the whole world, to 
gather them to the buttle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold I come as a thief." 
Rev. xvi. 13, 14. 



SPRINGFIELD: 
PUBLISHED L'Y II. S. TAYLOR. 

185.3. 



$ 



0^ 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1853, by 
ELD. Z. CAMPBELL. 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. 



PREFACE. 



" Pilate saith unto him, What is truth ? " — Johw xviu. 38. 

This great question is now agitating the world, and 
on its decision depends the fate of mankind at the ap- 
proaching great day of judgment. And since the ever- 
lasting welfare of man rests on its decision, too great 
an interest in it cannot be taken, nor can it be too 
seriously contemplated. The question is not, What I 
believe, or what you believe ; but, What is truth ? It 
is an abuse of the noble faculties of man to believe this 
or that is truth, without being able to give a reason 
for his belief ; for we are not saved by believing in a 
lie, but " by grace, through faith ; " that is, faith in the 
truth. It will, however, be readily seen that this plan 
of salvation rests on the truth of the Bible. 

It becomes, therefore, of the utmost consequence that 
we know whether it is true or false. To this point, 
then, the inquiry should be directed ; for it would 
certainly be unjust to expect people to believe without 
some evidence. It is not to be expected that any thing 
will convince a man who will not be convinced, for 

(3) 



4 PREFACE. 

there are none so blind as those who will not see. 
Now, setting aside all the conflicting interpretations 
which men have given to it, how can it be expected, 
if true, that it may be made to appear so ? or what 
evidence of the truth of it can the greatest sceptic ask 
for ? Let him ask the strongest and most reasonable 
evidence he can think of, and, with a little candor, he 
will be sure to find it. 

Though volumes have been written, and various ar- 
guments raised, to prove the divine authenticity of the 
Bible, yet there is but one way in which it can be done, 
and but one in which it can reasonably be expected ; 
and that is, in the fulfilment of its prophecies. The 
opinions of men may differ on the interpretation of 
certain words and phrases, and a seeming want of har- 
mony in the word thereby be produced : it is the im- 
perfections of men, and not of the word, which must 
stand or fall on its own fulfilment. But it should not 
be expected that any people should witness the truth 
of any more of the word than what belongs to the age 
in which they live. This is a peculiar feature in the 
sacred Scriptures. Every age has witnessed some por- 
tion of its fulfilment, enough to convince all who were 
willing to be convinced. 

We might mention the flood, and the length of time 
the living witnesses remained on earth, as monuments 
to the truth of God's word. These were evidence to 
that age. 



PREFACE. 5 

Later, we find a promise to Abraham that his seed 
should be a stranger four hundred years in a land that 
is not theirs ; the fulfilment of which was evidence to 
all such as were willing to believe. And yet later, we 
might refer to the Jewish captivity, and many other 
things, the fulfilment of which answered the same pur- 
pose to a later age. 

Frther down the stream of time we find the fulfil- 
ment of prophecy of a Messiah, to be born of a virgin, 
in Bethlehem of Judea, to be called a Nazarene, to be 
called out of Egypt, to be sold for thirty pieces of 
silver, to be brought as a lamb dumb before his shear- 
ers, &c. ; all of which proved, to the age which saw it 
fulfilled, the truth of divine revelation ; at least, it was 
proof to all, whether it was so received or not. 

Still later, the future pathway of the church was 
marked out, from the first to the second advent of 
Messiah, and the bloody persecution she would pass 
through ; all of which has been fulfilled up to our time. 

>Tor has God left this people without sufficient evi- 
dence of the truth of hi3 word. It is the design of 
this work to show that the mysteries of rapping spirit- 
ualism is a literal fulfilment of the word of God, ,; the 
strong delusion ;; which is to be sent in the last days ; 
and that the falling away, spoken of by Paul, that is, 
the remarkable disregard for religion the thing is pro- 
ducing, is as clearly marked out in that word ; and 
further, that it should be a science, "falsely 30 called." 



6 PREFACE. 

So there is no other way to consider it but in the light 
of true science and divine revelation. Therefore, the 
only appropriate answer to the question, What is truth? 
is found in the language of Him to whom the question 
itself was put, " Thy word is truth ; " that is, the word 
of the ' Father, to whom he prayed that his disciples 
might be sanctified through the truth ; and by this 
truth we shall endeavor to judge of the subject under 
consideration. Having practised in these mysteries 
for years, a total sceptic to all revealed religion, the 
author became convinced, by his own experience, that 
they are not performed by any scientific principle, but? 
in part, by the agency of evil spirits. It afterwards 
pleased God, in the order of his providence, to lead 
him to a knowledge of the truth of divine revelation, 
and give him a hope in Christ. 

On further reflection, he became convinced that the 
whole affair is but a revival of those abominations in 
the sight of God formerly practised by the heathen. 
From these circumstances, and by the earnest solicita- 
tion of friends, he has been induced to mount the car 
of sacred truth, and run " The Opposition Line " to the 
most fatal delusion that ever insnared our fallen race, 
humbly trusting in the Lord of hosts that his feeble 
effort may be an instrument in the hand of God in 
taking a few passengers on the old road to glory, 
which has often been travelled, but never found to lead 
astray. 



CONTENTS. 



» 

PAOl 

INTRODUCTION, . 9 

CHAPTER I. 

ANCIENT SORCERY. — MODERN MESMERISM. — ITS ORIGIN, . 17 

CHAPTER II. 

EXPERIMENTS OF THE AUTHOR, 28 

CHAPTER III. 

PHENOMENA OF MESMERISM, . 35 

CHAPTER IV. 

CLAIRVOYANCE CONTINUED, 45 

CHAPTER V. 

FURTHER EXPERIMENTS OF THE AUTHOR. — NO ELECTRIC- 
AL ACTION IN MESMERISM. - EVIL EFFECTS OF SPIRIT- 
UAL MANIFESTATIONS. - TnE TRANSFIGURATION. — AN 
ANGEL APPEARED TO JOHN THE REVELATOR, ... 56 

CHAPTER VI. 

PHENOMENA OF MESMERISM EXPLAINED ON THE SUPPO- 
SITION THAT ELECTRICITY IS THE AGENT CALLED INTO 
ACTION. — THE REV. J. BOVEE DODS'S THEORY, ... 66 

CHAPTER VII. 

REVIEW OF THE SUBJECT CONTAINED IN THE PRECEDING 

CHAPTER.— THE REV. BOVEE DODS'S THEORY REFUTED, » 

(?) 



8 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

GENERAL REMARKS 101 

CHAPTER IX. 

THE PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORY OF MESMERISM CONSID- 
ERED. — AN IMPROVED MODE OF GOING TO HEAVEN, . 129 

CHAPTER X. 

GOOD AND BAD SPIRITS. — TABLE TIPPING. — THEIR REAL 
TIPPING DOUBTED. — RAPID PROGRESS OF SPIRITUAL 
MANIFESTATIONS. — REFLECTIONS. — DOUBLE LIFE IN 
MAN, , 146 

CHAPTER XL 

THE EXISTENCE OF EVIL SPIRITS PROVED BY MESMERIC 

DISCLOSURES. -THE EASIEST WAY TO ACCOUNT FOR IT, 170 

CHAPTER XII. 

ORIGIN OF MESMERISM. — MEDIUMS AMONG THE NORTH 
AMERICAN INDIANS. — MESMERISM KNOWN TO NAA- 
MAN, 184 

CHAPTER XIII. 

THE NEW AGENT. — OD FORCE, OR MUNDANE AGENCY. — 

DEDUCTIONS, 105 

CHAPTER XIV. 

MESMERISM CONSIDERED IN THE LIGHT OF DIVINE REVE- 
LATION, 220 

CHAPTER XV. 

PSYCHOLOGY A SUBJECT OF SCRIPTURE PROPHECY. — THE 

MAN OF SIN. — THE DEVIL. — CONCLUSIONS, .... 242 



APPENDIX, 263 

INDEX, 273 



INTRODUCTION. 



" Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God, because 
many false prophets (or ' lying spirits ') are gone out into the world."— 1 Joh:i iv. 1. 

•• A consulter with familiar spirits shall not be found among you." — Deut. xviii. 
10, 11. 

A much-valued friend of the author, and brother 
in Christ, (H. Jones,) upon the above texts speaks 
thus : — 

" Probably no question publicly agitated has been more 
generally embarrassing and difficult to settle than that of 
modern spiritual manifestations, so called. The friends of 
these wonders maintain that they are caused by spirits of the 
dead, returned from the spirit world to enlighten mankind, as 
the Spirit of God, Christ, and angels did it formerly, on 
coming from heaven to earth. Yet a large class of their 
opponents consider the whole as a mere human imposture ; 
while a third class, admitting their being done rather by 
spirits of some kind, consider them not spirits of the dead 
at all, but ' unclean,' ■ lying spirit*,' such as, besetting men, 
e made them tormented maniacs, and were often cast out 
by divine power. And as proof that the thing is not a mere 
human sleight of hand performance, but something much 

(9J 



10 INTRODUCTION, 

worse and beyond that* large committees of opponents 
most suitable for the purpose have often thoroughly exam- 
ined the rapping phenomena, and reported publicly that they 
were not a human, deceptive performance, but an absolute 
mystery of some kind, so far as they could ascertain. These 
reports may be seen in the Auburn c history ' of them, and 
other such publications now common. And should not the 
manifold evidence of trusty eye and ear witnesses of the 
same, now in our midst, be also regarded ? And let us who 
oppose the rappers not join sides with them, by denying 
their being spirits at all, which naturally acquits them, and 
as they wish, of the charge now against them, that they are 
indeed the worst and most to be punished of all spirits con- 
demned in holy writ. 

" In a very limited, humble attempt now to assign reasons 
for not regarding the rapping spirits as spirits of the dead, 
sent back, as they say, but rather such as are of the most 
evil character, formerly tormenting and bewitching both 
human beings and swine, the following considerations are 
respectfully submitted : — ■ 

1. " It is well known by many who have looked most at 
this subject that there is no admissible conclusive evidence 
yet before us that the spirits of the dead are the real 
authors of these phenomena. And, indeed, there is no 
evidence at all from witnesses positively knowing who they 
are, on this side of the question, except from the rappers 
themselves. But while this testimony is wholly ex parte, 
and in their own defence, as they are now accused by many, 
we are naturally forbidden to receive it here, whatever their 
character, on further trial, may prove to be. Men on trial 
for alleged offences expect no acquittal merely on their own 



INTRODUCTION. 11 

testimony. Neither does any tribunal think of acquitting 
the arrested, however innocent, except on other testimony 
than that of their own pleading — c Not Guilty,'* And 
even the Lord Jesus Christ, on coming from heaven to 
earth, on his great mission from God Almighty, declined 
having his own mere testimony taken as proof in the case. 
He rather urged the testimony of his Father, and the ex- 
traordinary works done through himself, as admissible proof 
on the occasion. 

" Then, why should the mere testimony of these rapping 
spirits be now further urged upon us as proof that they are 
not ■ unclean,' ■ lying spirits,' but rather the spirits of the 
ancient prophets, apostles, Washington, Franklin, Tom Paine, 
«Scc., &c, together with the more immediate dead relatives 
of those who consult these spirits ? For such, indeed, they 
have most abundantly declared themselves to be, within the 
last two years or so, since beginning in the Fox family in 
western New York. And yet they are no new thing in the 
world, as histories of all ages and countries have shown ; 
though in outward forms and particulars the manifestations 
have varied, as apparently found needful, to cause the great- 
est seduction and ruin of mankind. 

u And as to the alleged good works of these spirits, as proof 
for them, viz., that they heal the sick, and otherwise greatly 
promote men's temporal interests, besides their extraordinary 
efforts in religion, as though expecting to secure the univer- 
sal salvation of men and spirits in the regeneration of the 
world without a judgment day, or resurrection of the dead 
through Christ, as appears from their revelations now pub- 
lished, — we have not yet known of their performing any 
better apparent works in such things than what l foul spirits * 



12 INTRODUCTION. 

would naturally do in their grossest deceptions, thus c trans- 
forming themselves ' into angels of light, as foretold of such 
spirits. 

2. " The public defenders of these spirits (let it be said 
kindly) are naturally understood as furnishing us some proof 
that the spirits are practising foul play, in claiming to be 
from God, and sent from the dead, as they do. Because 
much proof has been publicly brought against them' that 
they are demon spirits rather than what they claim to be ; 
which proof has come before their mediums, clairvoyants, 
and other public advocates. But instead of their attempting 
publicly and fairly to answer it, they have seemed to re- 
main as silent in regard to it as though neither the public 
nor themselves ever heard of such proof. Particulars of 
this will not be withheld when demanded. And yet their 
professed full ' investigation ' of the subject, in the late 
increase of their pamphlets, books, periodicals, circles, con- 
ferences, mass meetings, general conventions, &c, &c, 
appear rather as a flood about to deluge the community with 
this spiritualism. Still, in all these operations, so far, they 
have seemingly confined themselves to this one point, or 
position, viz., that c spirits ■ have caused the manifestations, 
and inferred from such proof that they are indeed from the 
dead. 

" If, then, these spirits are honestly what they claim to be, 
and if their disciples or followers are positively satisfied with 
the proof they have of it, it is not seen why they should so 
long and so rigidly stand back, or refuse to come forward 
into the open light, when called, as they often have been, to 
look full in the face the proofs before them, that these man- 
ifestations are performed by such foul spirits as those pos- 
sessing the swine, as already mentioned. 



INTRODUCTION'. 13 

3. " These spirits are much in the habit of misrepresen- 
tation and falsehood, in making communications through 
their mediums. And this is admitted publicly by the me- 
diums themselves, and other advocates, who, in such cases, 
apologize for their being ■ no more reliable,' generally im- 
puting it to the ■ mistakes ' of spirits " not yet fully devel- 
oped,' or to the ■ scepticism ' of some present, ' provoking ' 
the spirits to do no better. And these failures or falsehoods 
of the spirits appear as often to come from the pretended 
spirits of the pious dead as from others ; and, indeed, they 
all profess religion now. So long, then, as even the mediums 
admit these frequent untruths of their • guardian spirits,' and 
that they are ■ no more reliable,' how can others, yet sus- 
picious of them, safely rely upon such selfish and ex parte 
testimony, that they are, indeed, the true spirits of the 
dead ? 

4. M These spirits, or their mediums for them, are in some 
instances witnessing against each other publicly, as being 
; evil, damned spirits, willing instruments of the devil,' &c. 
In now showing this to be a fact, the following extract is 
quoted verbatim from a pamphlet just out, entitled, 'A De- 
fence of Spiritual Manifestations. By Rev. C. H. Harvey, 
Pastor of the M. E. Church, of Kingston, Pa. 1852.' 
The author says, — 

" c I have not the slightest doubt that evil spirits com- 
municate with the living, through mediums, in many in- 
stances. I believe that there are mediums so wicked that 
good spirits will not communicate with them. I believe this 
to be the case with the famous Auburn Circle. That raps 
are made there, and that communications are received con- 
taining extra human intelligence, I do not question ; but that 

2 



14 INTRODUCTION. 

the devil presides over the circle, and evil, damned spirits, 
the willing instruments of the devil, the only ones that com- 
municate through it, I am fully satisfied. And that many 
other* communications which have been spread abroad as 
coming from the spirit spheres are from the same source, or 
are wicked fabrications, got up by their authors for the pur- 
pose of deception, I am just as fully satisfied. To this class 
I believe the works of A. J. Davis, and much contained 
in the paper called the ' Spirit World,' edited by Rev. La 
Roy Sunderland, on spiritual manifestations, belong. Nay, 
I know it to be so. I know it, because they contradict the 
Bible.' — pp. 36,37. 

" And much more this spirit author says, equally de- 
nouncing these heretofore most publicly held up as pioneers 
and champions, if not bishops, in this spiritualism. And can 
they and their communicating spirits now, in return, con- 
sistently testify any more favorably of this fraternal author 
and his communicating spirits ? Should a company of the 
arrested thus testify against each other, their character, as a 
body, would naturally appear the more suspicious on that 
account. Then how can this company of accused rappers 
be properly acquitted, on their own testimony, thus alter- 
nately condemning themselves or each other ? 

5. " Many of the rapping spirits, if not all, teach infidel 
doctrines, and virtually urge them on the world as a substi- 
tute for the gospel of Christ. This is considered as much 
done in the voluminous spirit revelations of Mr. Andrew J. 
Davis, now regarded as understood first in rank among clair- 
voyants and mediums. But present limits will only admit a 
word of this spirit infidelity from 'A History of Develop- 
ments in Spiritual Manifestations in the city of PhiladeU 



INTRODUCTION. 15 

phia.'* This author, from spirit communications, teaches that 
this 'spiritual era of the nineteenth century' is full as 'im- 
portant and glorious' as that of the ' Christian era.' — p. 8. 
And that God never ' enabled ' men, by revelations, ' to em- 
brace the grand idea of a certain hereafter' till now, by 
' guardian angels,' (p. 9,) meaning rapping spirits ; as though 
these rappers have now done more in divine revelations than 
was ever before done by God himself, Christ, his Son, or 
through angels, prophets, and apostles. Does not this spirit 
assumption, at least, border on blasphemy ? 

" These Philadelphia spirit rappers also teach that ' it is 
impossible for a spirit to be bad,' (p. 12,) and that ' there can 
be no bad spirits,' (p. 13 ;) as though Satan himself, and his 
whole ' generation of vipers,' are all good in the spirit world. 
Those spirits also teach, unanimously, that ' all spirits are 
happy ' ' in the spirit world,' ' much happier than they were 
on earth ; ' that ' none of God's creatures are doomed to be 
miserable, but to enjoy all the happiness they are capable of 
doing,' &c, &c — pp. 62, 64-66, 72, 80. This is the 
same as saying, that not only all who die in sin, but all 
devils also, if there be any, shall be saved in heaven. If 
these spirit doctrines are not included among the apostle's 
foretold ' doctrines of devils,' to be taught by * seducing 
spirits,' what others can be so ? 

" Finally, in view of these things, may we not respectfully 
invite (not challenge) the supporters of rapping spirits, clair- 
voyance, &c, now to present publicly their strongest sup- 
posed proof that these manifestations are not identical with 
evil spiritual ' manifestations ' of old ? And will they not 
labor to show wherein they spiritually differ from those in 
Eden, which caused man's fall, such as strangely afflicted 



16 INTRODUCTION. 

Job and vexed King Saul? And let it be shown, if it can, 
that these spirits are not such as was in ' Balaam,' who sought 
to ' curse Israel ; ' such as were in c BaaPs prophets ; ' and 
also iied to ' King Ahab ; ' such as made persons ' wizards,' 
4 soothsayers,' and " maniacs,' and to break ' fetters and 
chains ; ' and such as were in swine, and were ' cast out ' of 
persons by divine power. Should this be effectually done, 
then let it be further urged upon us, and not before, that 
c spirits of the dead ' now perform these manifestations." 



THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 
OPPOSITION LINE. 



CHAPTER [. 

ANCIENT SORCERY. — MODERN MESMERISM. — ITS 
ORIGIN. 

From time immemorial, there have been individ- 
uals apparently endowed with superhuman power to 
do certain things contrary to the ordinary course of 
nature. That the holy prophets, Jesus Christ, and 
his apostles wrought miracles by the immediate 
power of God, I firmly believe, as may be abun- 
dantly proved by the sacred Scriptures. But there 
was, anciently, another very different class, who did 
many marvellous things by some other power. 

Among the former we find Moses and Aaron ; and 
among the latter, the sorcerers or magicians of Egypt. 
Ex. vii. 10-12, " And Moses and Aaron went in 
unto Pharaoh ; and Aaron cast down his rod before 
Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a 
serpent. Then Pharaoh also called the wise men 
and the sorcerers : now the magicians of Egypt, they 
also did in like manner with their enchantments. 
For they cast down every man his rod, and they 
became serpents : but Aaron's rod swallowed up their 
2* (17) 



18 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

rods." Now, Moses and Aaron were called of God 
to do these things, and were acting under a divine 
power given them for this great and good purpose; 
while the sorcerers, doing the same thing for an evil 
purpose, and by an evil power, were by divine dis- 
pleasure condemned. 

This appears from the following, among many 
other texts, which show the abomination of the prac- 
tice : (Rev. xxi. 8 ; xxii. 15. Is. xlvii. 9.) These 
practices have been known by different names, in 
different ages, and among different nations : besides 
those already given, we may add necromancy, witch- 
craft, &c. It was one of the abominations in the 
sight of God for which he drove the ancient Ca- 
naanites out of the land. (Deut. xviii. 9-14.) 

We shall proceed to show that the same abom- 
ination, with most if not all its ancient forms, exists 
among us at the present day. And although it has 
not been practised in this country, to any considerable 
extent, till within about fifteen years, it has found 
time to change its name several times — a circum- 
stance which alone is better calculated to excite sus- 
picion than to reflect any credit on the thing itself. 
Good things are not apt to change their names quite 
so often. Righteousness is still known by the same 
name by which it was in the days of David ; and the 
name Christian remains the same that it was when 
first given at Antioch, eighteen hundred years ago. 
(Acts xi. 26.) But the evil we speak of seems soon 
to get ashamed of one name ; to drop it and take 
another. 

Just so it was in old times : when it had, under one 
name, received the righteous frowns and just indig- 



OPPOSITION LINK. 19 

nation of God, it would drop that name and take 
another. 

In this eountry it was first ealled animal mag- 
netism, by which we were given to understand that 
certain manipulations made by one individual on 
another produced an effect in some respects similar 
to the natural magnet or loadstone. 

At an early period of its notoriety in this country, 
the author became acquainted with its modus operandi, 
and entered into it with a zeal and ardor that might 
have been honorable in a better cause. 

This was in the summer of 1841 : but no regular 
series of experiments were entered into until the 
year following. 

After the novelty of the thing had a little worn off, 
and the fact established that such mysteries were 
practicable, with such unremitted energy I perused 
the subject, that I soon found myself among the most 
successful experimenters of the day ; and for a long 
time I verily thought I discovered in it the germ of a 
science yet to be developed to bless mankind, not 
only in easing the load of human woe and misery, but 
also in obtaining a correct knowledge of the manners 
and customs of the various beings that people the 
distant stars, and in getting a peep occasionally into 
the cabinet of secret as well as future events. And 
from the apparent complete success of my exper- 
iments, I entertained high hopes that I should at 
length succeed in intwining around my temples the 
garlands of a deathless fame, as the founder of a 
science that was destined to put to the blush all 
others found on the pages of the Encyclopaedia. 

Such were my hopes. But God has since shown 
me that it is more noble to aim to be a good man 



20 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

than what the world calls a great one. And I think 
if men would exert themselves as much to be good as 
to be great, we should have more good men among 
us, and less mesmerism and spirit rapping. 

Believing it w 7 as a natural agent I had to deal 
with, I could not fail to see that, when its principles 
were well understood, it would amount to the most 
wonderful and glorious discovery ever made by man ; 
and that it was within the power of man, to a great 
extent, to investigate the laws of Nature, and from 
effects to learn causes, and trace her through her 
secret labyrinths up to Nature's God, and thus, by a 
kind of philosophical crucible, reduce the crudest ores 
to the purest metals. With these views I was im- 
pelled to action, and buoyant with hope. But God 
had otherwise decreed. A cup of disappointment 
was preparing, which, on tasting, I found of all things 
the most bitter. 

Before proceeding farther, it is necessary to state, 
that, for a long time after engaging in the thing, my 
whole object was to investigate it, and learn, if pos- 
sible, by what laws it was governed. Consequently, 
I made no public exhibition of it until I was per- 
suaded that I had arrived at a sufficient amount of 
facts to establish its claims to a science ; and since it 
bore the name of animal magnetism, my first ex- 
periments were designed to ascertain whether it bore 
any resemblance to natural magnetism. For this 
purpose, I entered into a series of experiments too 
numerous and varied to be enumerated here, the 
result of which seemed to establish the propriety of 
the name. 

Before entering upon my own experiments, it is 
proper to give the reader a brief account of the origin 



OPPOSITION LINT. 21 

of the thing itself. For this purpose, I here give an 
extract from a late English work on this subject. 

" Anton Mesmer was born in 1734, at Mersburg, 
on the shores of Lake Constance, and died in his 
native place in 1815, at the advanced age of eighty- 
one. At the age of forty-two he took the degree of 
doctor of medicine, in the University of Vienna. He 
appears to have been a man of imaginative cast of 
mind ; for the inaugural thesis he published on ob- 
taining his degree was, ' On the influence of the 
planets on the human body.' Such a mind, if likely 
to fall into many errors, was still open for the recep- 
tion of any new ideas which might present them- 
selves, and was not prone, as men of a more scep- 
tical cast, to reject any new truth, because it did not 
harmonize with preconceived opinions. The then 
professor of astronomy at Vienna believed in the 
efficacy of the loadstone as a remedy in human dis- 
eases, and he had invented a peculiar form of mag- 
netized steel plates, which, it is said, he applied to 
the cure of disease with much success. 

" Mesmer obtained from the astronomer, who was 
his personal friend, these magnets, and applied them 
in his own way ; and, it is said, with such striking 
results, that he communicated them to the astron- 
omer, who published an account of them, but attrib- 
uted the cures performed to the form of the plates, 
and merely represented Mesmer as a physician em- 
ployed by him to use them. Mesmer, who had dis- 
covered the peculiar mode of using them to insure 
success, — that was, in fact, by manipulations, now 
called passes, — was indignant at this, and accused 
his friend of a violation of the confidence placed in 
him. The result was a controversy between the 



22 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

parties, each accusing the other. Notwithstanding 
this quarrel, Mesmer proceeded in his own way, and 
acquired considerable popularity ; but whether from 
indiscretion on his part, or jealousy on the part of 
others, he was opposed by the scientific authorities 
of Vienna, and was ultimately obliged to quit that 
city. 

" In the year 1778, two years after obtaining his 
degree, he arrived in Paris, whither his popularity 
appears to have preceded him ; for we are told, even 
by his enemies, that, upon opening public apartments 
in that gay metropolis for the reception of patients, 
they were speedily crowded by the numbers who 
daily resorted to them, including all classes, from the 
peer to the peasant, and that hundreds were ready 
to testify to the cures wrought upon their own per- 
sons by the great magnetizer. Now, making every 
allowance for imagination or fancy, striking results 
must have followed his treatment, or no such enthu- 
siasm could have been raised in his behalf. 

" A French physician became a disciple of Mes- 
mer, and is said speedily to have acquired the best 
practice in Paris. So great, in fact, was Mesmer's 
success, that the French government took up the 
matter, and offered him a large annual income, if he 
would communicate his secret; and they appear to 
have thought so highly of the use to which this new 
agent might be applied, that they actually proposed 
to guaranty him a large sum, even if a commission 
appointed to examine the subject should make an 
unfavorable report! Mesmer, however, did not ac- 
cede to the government proposal. After some time 
and divers vicissitudes, the sum of ,£14,000 was 
raised by his disciples, whom he had instructed in his 



OPPOSITION LINE. 23 

art, but whom he did not consider entitled to practise 
it publicly — a right which they considered them- 
selves to possess. 

11 Mesmer then returned to his native place ; and 
this has been represented as i running away from his 
dupes;' but it appears that he retained faith in his 
views, and in his last illness sought relief in his own 
discoveries. As Mesmer's discoveries arose out of 
the use of magnets, it is not surprising that he should 
consider magnetism as the agent by which the effects 
he witnessed were produced. He therefore taught 
that there was a fluid, or gas, universally diffused, 
which influenced the earth and planets, and all an- 
imated bodies ; and this fluid he called ' animal mag- 
netism.' " 

He considered that it was capable of healing dis- 
eases of the nerves immediately, and other diseases 
mediately ; that it perfected the action of medicines, 
and tended to promote a favorable crisis in disease ; 
and that in animal magnetism nature presented a 
universal method of healing the diseases, and pre- 
serving the health of mankind. 

The great end of his proceedings appears to have 
been use — the application of a remedy for human 
suffering ; and he does not appear to have been aware 
of the more curious and distinctly psychical phenom- 
ena elicited by later inquirers. To the Marquis de 
Puysegur, a French nobleman, one of Mesmer's dis- 
ciples, is attributed the discovery of the faculty called 
clairvoyance, in the year 1784. 

For the sake of brevity, I omit describing Mes- 
mer's mode of operating, save that, among other 
means for acting on his patients, he had a sort of box, 
filled with iron filings and pounded glass, placed in 



24 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

the centre of the room where they assembled; and 
that they each were placed in connection with it by 
means of polished metal rods, which they held in their 
hands ; and the patients were further united and con- 
nected by means of a chain encircling them. 

When the French commissioners applied to this 
box the usual tests for terrestrial magnetism, and 
found no indication of ordinary magnetic influence, 
they reported the whole was the work of imagination, 
— . meaning fancy, — yet admitting that cures were 
effected. This commission seems to have been both 
a prejudiced and unfair one. The name of Dr. 
Franklin occurs among the commissioners ; but he 
was at that time unwell, and incapable of attending 
to the inquiry; and while the public report con- 
demned Mesmer and his proceedings, one of the 
commissioners, who had paid the greatest attention 
to the proceedings, published a private or individual 
report favorable to him. But in the year 1826, the 
French government appointed a second commission; 
and their report, published in 1831, fully admits the 
truth of all the phenomena usually ascribed to animal 
magnetism. 

However, our business is not so much with the 
opinions of Mesmer, or that of his friends or enemies, 
as with the facts and phenomena associated with his 
name. It was soon discovered that the steel rods 
had but little, if any thing, to do with the phenomena 
produced ; but the name of animal magnetism con- 
tinued to be used, and is still used on the continent, 
and by this name the practice was introduced into 
England a few years ago. But the English inquirers 
into this remarkable human faculty, finding that the 
use of a name which" implied the existence of a fluid 



i 



OPPOSITION LINK. 88 

which could not be demonstrated to the senfces was 

frequently turned into an argument against facts 
which admitted of complete demonstration, adopted, 
out of respect to the memory of Mesmer, and to 
avoid the appearance of the adoption of any theory 
of their own, that of mesmerism ; just as magnetism 
is applied to the properties of the loadstone, from 
Magnes, the ancient reputed discoverer of its powers, 
or galvanism to the discoveries of Galvani. 

Here let us pause a moment for reflection. If we 
wish to understand the subject, we must begin at the 
root of the matter. It appears that the professor of 
astronomy at Vienna, believing in the efficacy of the 
loadstone as a remedy in human disease, invented a 
peculiar form of magnetized steel plates, which he 
used for that purpose with success. But Mesmer 
discovered what he thought was an improved mode 
of using them ; that is, by manipulations, or passes. 

Some who read this will readily recollect what were 
called Perkins's tractors, which were used for the same 
purpose. They consisted of two parts, each of 
pointed and polished metal, one of brass, and the 
other of magnetized steel. They were held in the 
hands of the operator, and drawn over the parts of 
the patient affected. In some cases, the effect was 
said to be wonderful ; but when mesmerism was in- 
troduced by manipulations, it was generally admitted 
that it was the passes, and not the metallic points, 
which did the work. Even the author himself, who 
is a believer in the natural agency of mesmerism, and 
whose language we have just quoted, acknowledges 
that "it was soon discovered that the steel rods [used 
by Mesmer] had but little if any thing to do with the 
phenomena produced.'' And since these rods were 
3 



26 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

evidently designed to establish connection with the 
patient and box of iron filings and pounded glass, 
if the rods were useless, the box and contents were. 
And that the plates w T hich he received from his friend 
at Vienna were also useless in the performance, is 
abundantly proved, at present, by the fact that the 
same effects are now produced, and in a more won- 
derful degree, without them. 

So it seems evident that Mesmer's experiments, 
and also those of the astronomer of Vienna, furnish 
us no evidence of the germ of a science in the whole 
affair. It is evident they were impressed with the 
idea that magnetism was an agent that might be 
employed in the cure of disease ; and under this im- 
pression they used such means as they supposed 
would convey this influence to their patients, each 
one in his own way. Now, if magnetism was really 
the agent employed, some such apparatus was abso- 
lutely necessary, and the learned professor's philos- 
ophy was strictly according to the laws of nature. 
But every instance we have that these things have 
since been done without apparatus is evidence that 
Mesmer knew not the agent called into action. And 
here we cannot pass over in silence the discovery of a 
general feature, that seems to run through mesmer- 
ism, in all its various forms, from beginning to end ; 
that is, the results in mesmerism correspond to the 
expectations of the parties concerned. In other words, 
the experiments of the operator prove his theory. It 
matters but little what that theory is, or how different 
the theory of one individual may be from that of 
another ; let each resort to mesmeric experiments, and 
each will find in it the proof of his own. 

Let this general feature of the thing be borne in 



OPPOSITION LINE. 27 

mind by the reader. We will first examine the ex- 
periments of the professor of astronomy at Vienna. 
He believed in the efficacy of the loadstone as a 
remedy in human disease. This was his theory. He 
undoubtedly expected that, if he could apply it to the 
patient, he should succeed in effecting a cure. He 
made the attempt, and succeeded just as he ex- 
pected. But subsequent experiments have long since 
proved that his plates were entirely useless in his 
experiments : but no matter ; he thought the effect 
could not be produced without them, and, of course, 
he could not do without them. Mesmer thought if 
the plates were used in a different manner, by being 
passed over the patient in the manner now called 
passes, the effect would still be greater. He tried the 
experiment, and the result was as he anticipated. He 
outdid the old professor at once. But subsequent 
experiments have long since proved that his improved 
use of them, together with his box and polished rods, 
have no more to do with the phenomena in question 
than Perkins's tractors had in curing the toothache. 
But no matter ; he thought they had, and that an- 
swered his purpose. 

Much has been said by the advocates of mesmer- 
ism, as a science, concerning the report of the com- 
missioners chosen by the French government to ex- 
amine the thing. But it does not appear that either 
of these commissions acknowledged that the thing 
had any claims to a science. The first reported that 
the whole was the work of imagination ; the second, 
that of 1826, and published in 1831, admit the truth 
of the phenomena. This was certainly the least that 
any commissioners could admit. So far, therefore, as 
any thing can be made of these reports, they are 
against mesmerism. 



28 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 



CHAPTER II. 

EXPERIMENTS OF THE AUTHOR. 

It has already been noticed, that, as the subject 
was introduced into this country under the name of 
animal magnetism, my first experiments were to as- 
certain whether it bore any resemblance to the nat- 
ural magnet. For this purpose, an artificial magnet 
was first used, (the common horseshoe magnet,) 
which seemed to have a powerful effect on persons 
in the magnetic state, by which they could be drawn 
all over the room. It also further appeared equally 
evident that one side of a magnetized person, called 
a subject, was attracted by one pole of the magnet, 
and repelled by the opposite ; so that one in that 
state was a complete magnet of himself, having the 
two poles as a common magnet. This led me to 
reflect that, if one person had magnetic polarity, 
another had ; and if there was any law of nature 
about it, it was the same in all individuals, and the 
visible polarity exhibited in the magnetic state might 
be superinduced by the latent polarity of the operator 
through his manipulations ; and if so, it depended on 
this circumstance, viz., that, in the usual way of 
magnetizing, the right hand of the operator came in 
contact with the left side of the subject, and his left 
hand in contact with the subject's right ; and the 
effect depended on the opposite poles being brought 
together. Hence it was easily conjectured that, if the 
process was so changed as to bring the two right and 



OPPOSITION i.i\i.. 29 

left sides of the parti ther, a contrary efl 

would be produced. So. taking an easy subject, J 
performed the manipulations with my arms crossed, 
as J hen he blessed the two sons of 

■ph. The result was as I anticipated. The po- 
larity of my subject seemed changed, so that the 
which, in the usual way of mesmerizing, was 

icted by the north pole of the magnet, was now 
it. This is certainly the most illusory 
tiling T ever met with. 

What philosopher, while he supposed himself in- 
iting a natural agent, and treating it according 
to certain known laws of nature, and finding it, to all 
. obedient to those laws, would ever dream 
that his own preferred opinions were affecting the 
result of his experiments ? But so it is. I was not 
the first one so deceived. Mesmer himself was caught 
in the same trap, and thousands, to-day, are locked 
up fast in the jaws of the same. 

m and electricity are supposed, by 
>ome, to be but modifications of the same agent or 
power, I naturally concluded that the agent I sup- 
posed myself dealing with might be nearer allied 
the latter. Accordingly, I instituted another set 
of experiments, in which electrical apparatus was 
ited for the artificial magnet. I first tried a 
. charged in the usual way. and found its 
effects still more evident than that of the magnet. It 
med to attract and repel alternate sides of my 
sub; the positive or n< - of the jar 

were presented. The experiments in mesmerism are 
every way calculate Ibe wary. I had a 

theory which T supposed was a philosophical one. It 
was predicated upon the known principles of elec- 
3* 



30 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

tricity and magnetism. If two bodies, both pos- 
itively or negatively excited, be brought near each 
other, they repel ; but if one is positively excited, and 
the other negatively, they will attract. I had already 
satisfied myself, that, with respect to magnetism, one 
side of my subjects possessed north polarity, and the 
other south. Now, when I substituted electricity for 
magnetism, I obtained additional proof. A stick of 
sealing wax, excited, would attract one side of my 
subjects, while an excited glass rod, or tube, would 
repel the same. Now, could any thing, apparently, 
be more positively and plainly demonstrated ? 

I next used a delicate, gold-leaf electrometer ; and 
at first I fancied it was affected by contact with one 
in the mesmeric state ; but when I began to doubt 
my premises and review my former experiments, 1 
reflected that my experiments with the electrometer 
were mostly made in the same room where my elec- 
trical apparatus was kept and frequently used ; so 
that the effect might have been owing to that, and 
not affected at all by the subject. And my later 
experiments prove this conjecture to be true; else, 
like most other experiments in mesmerism, the instru- 
ment was affected by my preferred opinion. But I 
have never yet learned that any experimenter, let his 
opinion be what it may, has ever been able to detect 
electricity in mesmerism, in any of its varied forms, 
by the use of an electrometer. With my own pres- 
ent opinion on this subject, I do not believe that any 
mesmeric experiment can be so conducted as to effect 
a gold-leaf electrometer held in my hand. 

My conviction that electricity was the agent called 
into action led me to a further examination, with a 
view to ascertain, if possible, whether a fluid, or 



OPPOSITION LINE. 31 

something similar, was drawn from, or imparted to, 
the subject The result was, apparently, that one 

was drawn from him, and I supposed it was the 
positive. 

In these experiments I labored diligently to ascer- 
tain in what manner the outside of a Leyden jar is 

said to be charged by induction. It is well known 
that, if either side or coating of a jar be charged 
either positively or negatively, the other side or coat- 
ing will become oppositely charged by induction, as 
it is called. Now, the question with me was, Where 
does the charge, by induction, come from? It does 
not come from the same machine while but one side 
of the jar is connected with it. For instance : the 
outside of a jar is not merely and necessarily in the 
negative state because it is attached to a machine, 
and the inside charged positively. If it is, an insu- 
lated jar might be charged as well as one that was 
not; which is not the case. But since positive and 
negative electricities, or vitreous and resinous, as 
they are called, attract each other, it seems this mu- 
tual attraction reaches through the glass, a non- 
electric, and holds the two forces to its coatings. 
That this is the case, is pretty evident from the fol- 
lowing experiment: I took a small iron rod, and, 
having attached a ball to each end of it, suspen 
it on its centre of gravity by a silk cord. It was then 
insulated. I then charged a jar, and holding a large 
pane of glass under one end of the rod, and bringi 
the knob of the jar up to it, it was attracted so as to 
decline at an angle of nearly forty-five degrees ; and 
on removing the glass, and charging the rod, and re- 
peating the operation, the rod was as much repelled. 
This fact seemed to account for some of the greater 



32 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

mysteries in mesmerism, of which we shall speak 
hereafter. 

On one occasion, while magnetizing a subject 
seated 'by the side of another, both easy subjects, I 
observed that they both seemed affected in nearly the 
same degree. I immediately concluded they were 
both within the sphere of mesmeric influence, and 
only needed a little closer union to be equally affected. 
Therefore I joined their hands together, and contin- 
uing the manipulations on the one I commenced, 
put them both into the magnetic state at nearly the 
same time. This is the first I ever knew or heard of 
more than one person's being mesmerized at once 
by manipulations. At that time I knew nothing of 
Mesmer's process of producing this state. It was 
more difflcLilt to get books on the subject then- than 
at present. But as the circumstance was in harmony 
with ray views of the nature of the thing, I tried the 
experiment still further. I seated two subjects at 
considerable distance from each other, and made a 
connection between them with a brass wire held in 
the hand of each ; and in mesmerizing one in the 
usual way, both fell into the mesmeric or abnormal 
state. 

My next step was, after the manner of Gray and 
Wheeler's experiments in electricity, to see if, at a 
greater distance, the same effect would be pro- 
duced. 

In my next experiment I seated my subjects about 
thirty feet apart, and run a wire between them as 
before. Still the effect was the same — both were 
mesmerized at once. Extending the experiment still 
further, I took eight persons, and formed them into 
a circle by joining their hands; and being within 



OPPOSITION u\r.. 33 

myself, made the usual passes on our, and fire out of 
the eight became mesmerized. 

Thia was probably the first circle mesmerizing 
known in tins country. It appears that Mesmer ar- 
ranged his subjects in a circle round a box of iron 
Tilings, each holding in the hand a polished metallic 
rod communicating with the contents of the box, 
while they were further " united by a chain encircling 
them." This he supposed was necessary, on the sup- 
position that magnetism was the agent called into 
action. I supposed it was electricity, and formed a 
circle in harmony with the laws which govern that 
agent, while Mesmer formed his in harmony with 
what he thought to be the laws of magnetism. Yet 
the probability is, we both produced the same effect 
because we both expected the same. This appears 
to be the most mysterious part of the mystery, and 
one that forbids every idea of there being a natural 
agent on any known law of nature concerned in the 
whole affair. Whether this was the first circle of the 
kind or not, is not easy to determine ; but I have not 
yet learned that any one else formed a mesmeric 
circle in this manner until after my published account 
of this, which, I think, was in the winter of 1842-3. 
But it is now claimed that such circles have become 
the connecting link between heaven and earth ; or, to 
speak more psychologically, a kind of spiritual tel- 
egraph line from earth to the spirit land, through 
which the most wonderful disclosures are made by 
the spirits of the dead. 

At the time this discovery was made, I regarded it 
highly interesting, not so much from what I supposed 
would be its future usefulness, as from its novelty, 
and the wonderful phenomena it presented ; neither 



34 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

did I dream of the evil which has since grown out 
of it. Some of the most striking features presented 
by the circle we proceed to notice. There were eight 
in it, and five were mesmerized. These were formed 
into a smaller circle after throwing out the three. It 
then appeared that this reduced circle was as one 
individual. Any thing which affected one, affected, 
in like manner, the whole. What one tasted or felt, 
was tasted or felt by all. If a phrenological organ 
was excited in the head of one, the faculty of that 
organ was manifested in them all. Many other 
amusing phenomena were witnessed at this time; 
but as we shall have occasion to refer to this part of 
the subject again, we pass it by for the present. 



OPPOSITION LINJ 35 



CHAPTER III. 

PHENOMENA OF MESMERISM. 

We now proceed to give some account of the 
phenomenon of the mesmeric state, or, as it is by late 
writers sometimes called, the psychic state. This 
state really consists of a variety of states, all having 
one common character or generic resemblance, yet 
presenting widely different phenomena. 

1. The simple mesmeric drowsiness, or sleep, 

2. Coma, a more profound sleep. 

3. Insensibility to pain. 

4. Phantasy, the state in which the subject takes 
the mere suggestions of the mind of the operator to 
be realities. 

5. Phrcno-mesmerism is when a phrenological organ 
of the subject is excited by the operator, the faculty 
of that organ is aroused to action. 

6. Clairvoyance, the faculty of seeing without the 
aid of either light or natural eyes, called, also, cerebral 
lucidity, inner vision, internal or spiritual sight. Of 
this state there appear to be several degrees, to be 
treated of hereafter, the last and most perfect of 
which is death. 

7. Catalepsy, a rigidity of the muscles, and inabil- 
ity of the subject to move. 

8. Transfer of slate and feeling, in which the sub- 
ject feels what is done to the mesmerize! as if it 
were done to himself. 

9. Attraction and repulsion, an apparent magnetic 



36 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

drawing or repelling the person of the subject, ap- 
parently contrary to his inclinations. 

10. Unity, in which the subject seems to take him- 
self to be the same individual as the operator. 

Different writers have used different names for 
these states, but they mean nearly the same. Besides 
these, there is another feature of the thing, which I 
do not recollect its ever having a name ; that is, as a 
general thing, subjects readily hear and answer their 
operators, but seem incapable of hearing or answer- 
ing others, or being conscious of their presence. To 
this there are, however, many exceptions. Another 
is, a subject may be transferred from the power and 
influence of his mesmerizer into the hands of another 
person, who has all the control over him that his 
mesmerizer had, though the second person may not 
be able to mesmerize. But it must not be supposed 
that any one subject may be made to exhibit all 
these states. I have known many who seemed to- 
tally incapable of exhibiting more than the first or 
second; and some who seemed susceptible of the 
influence sufficient to produce the state of drowsi- 
ness only, which would also show some symptoms 
of a higher state. 

The second state, at the first appearance, is a pro- 
found sleep, from which the subject is not easily 
aroused but by his mesmerizer. In this state it is 
common to find subjects more or less insensible to 
feeling ; and when they have the least of their own, 
they most readily receive the feelings of their op- 
erator. I have seen some as apparently insensible to 
pain as a corpse ; yet the least scratch of a pin on 
my hand would be sensibly and acutely felt by the 
subject. And what was very singular, if the scratch 



OPPOSITION LINE. 37 

was made on my right hand, the Bubject felt if on his 
left) and vice versa. It is also common, in this state, 
for the subject to smell and taste what the operator 
does. The reader will understand the state here 
spoken of is what is called coma, or sound sleep ; and 
when a subject is sensible to the feelings of his 
operator, he is still sound asleep, but in what is called 
transfer of state and feeling. 

We will next consider the state called fantasy. 
Experiments in this state are interesting to one who 
believes he is using a natural agent, and often very- 
amusing. My own method was to hold a stick in 
my hands, and, after the manner of the magicians of 
Egypt, cause it to become a serpent. This was done 
by closing my eyes and fixing my mind intensely on 
a writhing serpent, which I fancied I held in my 
hands, then place it in the lap of my subject, in 
whose mind it became a serpent in reality. Some- 
times a glove or handkerchief was rolled up, and in 
the same manner made to become a chicken, a kitten, 
an orange, or a toad, just as fancy dictated. 

Phreno-mesmerism will next claim attention. It 
was generally produced by exciting the phrenological 
organs of the brain of the subject, by making a few 
passes over them for that purpose. This seemed to 
call the faculty of the organ into powerful action ; 
and to suspend the action of the faculty so excited, 
the passes were reversed. 

It was amusing in some cases to witness this 
effect. Excite the organs of time and tune, and get 
the subject to singing, and immediately reverse (he 
passes, that is, to suspend the action of these facul- 
ties, and the subject would stop singing, often in the 
middle of a word. Excite the organs again, and he 
4 



38 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

would commence just where he left off, and never 
seemed to forget either the note or syllable he left off 
at. In this manner, the sensations of hunger or 
thirst, solemnity or mirthfulness, anger, love, or fear, 
may all be made to succeed each other in rapid suc- 
cession. 

As we wish to be brief in these descriptions, we 
next consider the more wonderful state called clair- 
voyance, in which the subject at first has a faculty of 
seeing things not within the range of natural vision. 
Such objects as may be in the room, but not in sight 
of the subject, — objects held behind the head, for in- 
stance, — are distinctly seen, and even when the eyes 
are bandaged. By degrees this faculty seems to be 
extended, so that things at any distance may be seen. 
Most operators used to talk of two states of this 
faculty — one called the dependent clairvoyance, in 
which it was supposed nothing could be seen or 
described by the subject, except what was seen by 
the operator, or present in his mind at the time. But 
it was a long time an unsettled question whether 
such a thing as independent clairvoyance existed or 
not ; that is, whether a subject could, in any case, see 
or know things of which the operator himself was en- 
tirely ignorant. But a multitude of facts have abun- 
dantly proved that it is even so. Some of my clair- 
voyants have described things accurately, of which I 
knew nothing at the time, and such as they could not 
have known by the ordinary means of knowledge. 
More recently, mesmerizers enumerate two or three 
other and still higher states of clairvoyance. The 
first is called induced mesmeric extasis or trance ; 
the second, spontaneous extasis ; the third is death. 
The first of these is the state induced bv mesmerism, 



OPPOSITION LINK. 39 

in which visions are had, and intercourse held with 
the spirits of the dead. The second, as its name 
indicates, is nearly the same as the first, but in a 
higher degree, and entered into spontaneously, or 
without the aid of mesmerism. The difference be- 
tween the two seems to be this : Whatever occurs to, 
or is seen by, one in the induced extasis, is forgotten 
upon the return of the normal state; while one in 
the spontaneous extasis, or, as it is sometimes called, 
superior slate, recollects all on returning to the 
normal state. The third is the perfect state of ex- 
tasi: . As a fair specimen of the clairvoyant faculty, 
we subjoin the following, from the pen of Dr. Had- 
dock, an English operator: — 

" Besides the pow r er of seeing by an internal sight 
such things as were put into her hands, or to which 
her attention was directed, Emma would sometimes 
manifest a sort of apparently omnipresent vision. 
Thus she has frequently been asked to find missing 
or lost articles. After a few minutes' consideration, 
she has said where they might be found ; or, in other 
cases, got up and pointed out the place where they 
lay concealed. And this she has repeatedly done 
when there was the most undoubted evidence that 
neither herself in the normal condition, nor the mes- 
merizer, nor any other individual, knew the situation 
of the articles she was desired to look for. This 
power has been, on most occasions, called into exer- 
cise chiefly for the sake of experiment, and to test 
its reality ; but it has also been applied to purposes 
of use. The following is a remarkable instance, and 
also valuable, as placing the reality and powers of 
clairvoyance or internal sight beyond the reach of 
cavil or contradiction : — 



40 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

"'On Wednesday evening, Dec. 20, 1848, Mr. 
Wood, grocer, of Cheapside, Bolton, had his cash 
box, .with its contents, stolen from his counting house. 
After applying to the police, and taking other pre- 
cautionary steps, and having no clew to the thief, 
though he suspected what proved to be an innocent 
party, and having heard of Emma's powers as a 
clairvoyant, he applied to me, to ascertain whether, by 
her means, he could discover the party who had taken 
it, or recover his property. I felt considerable hes- 
itation in employing Emma's powers for such a pur- 
pose, fearing that both the motive and agency might 
be grossly misrepresented. But the amount at stake, 
the opportunity of experiment, and Mr. Wood being 
a neighbor, induced me to comply with his request ; 
and nine o'clock, next morning, was appointed for 
the trial. At that hour Mr. Wood came to my res- 
idence, and I then put Emma, by mesmerism, into 
the internal state, and then told her that Mr. Wood 
(whom I put en rapport, as it is called, with her) had 
lost his cash box, and I wished her to tell us, if she 
could, where the box was taken from, what was in it, 
and who took it. She remained silent a few minutes, 
evidently mentally seeking for what she had been 
requested to discover. Presently she began to talk 
with an imaginary person, as if present in the room 
with us ; but as it subsequently proved, although in- 
visible and imaginary to us, he was both real and vis- 
ible to her; for she had discovered the thief, and was 
conversing with his mind on the robbery. She de- 
scribed, in the course of this apparent conversation, 
and afterwards to us, where the box was placed, 
what the general nature of its contents was, partic- 
ularizing some documents it contained, how he took 



OPPOSITION mm:. 1 L 

ind thai he did not take it away to hia residence 
onoe, but hid it up an entry; and her description 
of his person, dress, associations, &&, was so vivid, 
that Mr. Wood immediately recognized the purloiner 
of his property in a person the last to be suspected, 
tisfied, from the general accuracy of her 
:riptions, and also from her describing the contents 
of the box, that she had really pointed out the delin- 
quent, Mr. Wood went directly to the house where he 
and which she had pointed out, even to the 
on the doorplatc, and insisted on his accom- 
g him to my house, or, in case of refusal, to 
the police oiKce. 

"'When brought and placed in connection with 
Emma, she started back from him as if he had been 
a serpent, telling him that he was a bad man, and 
observing also that he had not the same clothes on as 
n he took the box, which was the fact. He 
denied strenuously all knowledge of the robbery then 
and up to a late hour in the afternoon ; but as he 
- not permitted to go at large, and thus had no op- 
portunity for destroying or effectually concealing the 
box, and as Mr. Wood had promised, for the sake of 
his connections, not to prosecute, if confession was 
made and the box and contents recovered, he at last 
admitted that he had taken it in the manner described 
by Emma; and the box and contents were found in 
the place where he had secreted them, broken open, 
but the property safe. It should be observed that 
Emma had pointed out the place where the box v 
concealed ; but we could not be certain of the place 
meant, without permitting her, while in the inter- 
nal state, to lead us to it. This the confession ren- 
dered unnecessary.' " 
4* 



42 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

Such is clairvoyance. A greater mystery, perhaps, 
was never known. The circumstance just related is 
one among many that are less successful. Some of 
our American clairvoyants have sometimes been as 
successful as Emma, and again and again have 
proved a total failure. 

To assign a reason for this is very difficult. It is 
evident there can be no philosophical reason given 
for their frequent failures, until there can be such a 
reason given why they should sometimes be successful. 
This has never been done. About the time clair- 
voyants began to be multiplied in this country, 
(1843-4,) there was considerable excitement on the 
subject, and many were the shrewd guesses to what 
it would finally amount. But none guessed its pres- 
ent claims ; that is, being a medium through which 
to communicate with the spirits of the dead. Those 
who were most intent on extending the sphere of 
human knowledge, and whose* expectations were 
highly raised, sent clairvoyants into every part of 
the universe of God, not excepting heaven and 
hell. 

On finding myself in possession of one, my first 
object was to penetrate creation's utmost bound, and 
with one bold stroke to rend the veil of the curtained 
heavens, and steal a critic's view of distant worlds ; 
and, with one enormous leap, to pass the immeas- 
urable space between us and those planets that 
circle the utmost distant stars, and bring to light 
the record of worlds beyond the reach of eye or 
glass. 

This may seem too great a work for a sane mind 
to anticipate. But take the position that must be 
taken by a believer in the independent clairvoyant 



OPi I LINBi 43 

and to this faculty sp annihilated] and 

all this may be expected. For by such a faculty, one 
ls well describe Major as in 

an adjoining room. The 1. te to be considered 

talepsy. By this is understood a rigidity of the 
muscles of the subject. The first complete state that 
ever fell under my observation was that of a lady 
whom I undertook to mesmerize, and who also de- 
i it, but dreaded the idea of losing her conscious- 
-. and insisted on being mesmerized awake. To 
this I consented, telling her, jestingly, she might do 
he pleased about going to sleep. And indeed she 
did, for she successfully resisted every effort I could 
make to close her eyes or produce the first symptoms 
of drowsiness; but being determined to succeed in 
some respect, I finally produced the most singular 
case of catalepsy that I ever witnessed. There sat 
my subject, to all appearance, in a perfectly normal 
state, conversing with her friends as usual. She had 
the power also to turn her head as usual; but every 
joint and muscle below the neck was fixed as in a 
frost, as immovable as a block of marble. The ob- 
servation I made at the time, was, " she was all mes- 
merized but her head." The state is, however, fre- 
quently produced upon a limb, a hand, or even a 
finger, and not on the whole person at once. It is 
generally produced by making passes over the part 
designed to be made cataleptic. On this subject, Dr. 
Haddock uses the following language: — 

:; In a majority of cases, manipulations, actual con- 
tact, or audibly spoken words are necessary to pro- 
duce the desired result ; but in some cases, the mere 
volition of the operator is sufficient.' 1 

The reader will notice, as he passes along, that 



44 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

whatever means are usually resorted to, to produce 
mesmeric phenomena, in the end they may be pro- 
duced without any other than the effort of the will. 
And it has not yet been proved that a master op- 
erator need depend on any thing but his will. 



opposition mm:. 45 



CHAPTER IV. 

CLAIRVOYANCE CONTINUED. 

We have already noticed the excitement this fac- 
ulty produced when the existence of it was fairly 
demonstrated. Fancy painted to herself that it might 
be made to subserve almost any purpose. Men of 
every grade, from the tinker and cobbler to the judge 
and divine, thought they saw in it the master key to 
their respective professions. The surgeon and dentist 
had only to mesmerize their afflicted patients to per- 
form their hitherto torturing operations; while pain, 
that cruel spoiler of human happiness, was allowed 
no part or lot in the matter. 

The physician, too, saw in it the secret of his art. 
He had only to send his clairvoyant inside of his 
patient to learn the secret cause of the malady and 
the appropriate remedy for the same. As the artist 
who undertakes to repair the deranged machinery of 
a w r atch opens it, and, with a microscopic eye, crit- 
ically surveys its inmost parts, by which he is enabled 
so to adjust them as to keep measured pace with 
Father Time in his rapid and unreturning flight, 
so the physician, by the aid of this wonderful faculty, 
fancies he is no longer doomed to deal his nostrums 
at the symptoms of disease, like an unskilful sports- 
man, who fires a random shot at a bird or, for aught 
he knows, the shadow of one, which, if he hits, 'tis 
well ; if not, he consoles himself with having made a 
learned shot ; but now, through clairvoyance, pos- 



46 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

sesses the certain means of scattering his death shot 
with unerring aim at the mortal pestilence of man, 
and forcing the king of terrors to retire, with modest 
step, far beyond the shades of threescore and ten. 
(See a notice at the close of this chapter.) 

So also the sufferer of lost or stolen property saw 
in it the ready means of restoration. For this purpose, 
clairvoyants were sent in pursuit of the thief, who, 
like the sagacious hound, would pursue him step by 
step through his midnight rambles to his secret den, 
and there describe the pilfered gain. 

Again : the mineralogist saw in it the means of en- 
riching himself with the precious ores hid in the 
womb of Mother Earth. Clairvoyants were sent 
through the base of Alpine rocks in search of the 
precious ores, and barren mountains were made to 
groan with the weight of gold contained in their cav- 
erns, shut up for ages, and hitherto concealed from 
human view by superincumbent strata, which now, 
as transparent glass, readily admit the all-seeing eye 
of this mysterious agent to view their golden store. 
The moralist, too, saw in it the elements of a com- 
plete moral reform ; for by it the secret deeds of mid- 
night villany may be as manifest as the noonday acts 
of an honest man ; and where villany has no veil to 
hide it, it were an easy matter to chase it out of the 
world. 

But I have never yet learned that crime has been 
any the less for this faculty, from which it is said 
nothing can be hid. But such were the anticipations 
of many. The thing was considered in its infancy, 
and men but little acquainted with its principles. 
But it was thought the time would soon arrive when 
it would be more perfectly understood, and a new 



OPPOSITION LINE. 47 

science added to the sum of human knowledge, 
which, like a star of the first magnitude, would out- 
shine every Other in the firmament of human wisdom. 

But this is in very bad keeping with the present 
rapid march of human wisdom. It is now seventy- 
five years since Mesmer introduced it into France. 
Since that time, it has more or less attracted the 
attention of the literati in various enlightened nations. 
Let the reader step back seventy-five years, and take 
a survey of chemistry, natural philosophy, geology, 
mineralogy, electricity, and galvanism, with the arts 
and inventions of that day, and compare the same 
with those of the present time, and say, Why is it 
that man seems to have perfected his knowledge of 
every thing else ? — still, mesmerism, as then, remains 
involved in the shades of mystery. 

But we hasten to notice still further what seems to 
be a general feature of the thing. The reader w T ill 
recollect that, in my own experiments, the results 
seemed to be just according to my prepossessed opin- 
ion, and, as far as my knowledge of the thing extends, 
it is more or less so with the experiments of others. 
This is one of the great mysteries of the thing. A 
person investigating it, and confining his observations 
to his own experiments alone, is in a school where 
not even the alphabet of the mystery is known or 
taught; nor can he ever learn it until be diligently 
compares the experiments and results of many op- 
erators of different minds and different theories. We 
will take, for instance, the clairvoyant faculty. My 
first use of it was to gain a knowledge of the distant 
heavenly bodies; and for this purpose, I sent my 
clairvoyant to the moon, to begin with, and the intel- 
ligence 1 obtained was just what I had for years 



48 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

before been in the habit of giving in my public lec- 
tures on astronomy. So that neither myself nor the 
world were any wiser than before ; for my clairvoyants 
only reflected my own opinion. Others, whose phil- 
osophical views of that secondary differ materially 
from mine, sent their subjects to it, and obtained 
descriptions of it corresponding to their theories. As 
it was supposed nothing can exist beyond the reach 
of this faculty, I thought we were in possession of 
the means of settling the great question relative to a 
future state of existence ; so I sent clairvoyants to 
heaven and hell ; at least, I requested them to explore 
those places. But they always had some excuse; 
either they could not be persuaded to go, or they 
could not find such places. The fact was, I was 
totally infidel with regard to revealed religion, and, of 
course, did not believe in the existence of such places. 
Some of my brother mesmerizers, of religious faith, 
had better success. They sent their clairvoyants to 
these places, and obtained such descriptions of them 
as corresponded precisely to their creeds. The clair- 
voyant of a Universalist described heaven as the hap- 
py rendezvous of the human race, but could find no 
hell. Some of more orthodox faith sent clairvoyants 
to "the spirit world," who, after describing the joys of 
the blessed, looked from the confines of heaven, doicn, 
down, where Milton's devil fell " nine days and nights," 
into the horrid pit, where lay the spirits of the damned, 
writhing on liquid billows of fire and brimstone, and 
sending forth unceasing shrieks of eternal woe and 
agony. 

We have given the reader some account of Emma, 
the clairvoyant and medium of Dr. Haddock of Eng- 
land. The doc! or says, "Her ideas of religion 



dpi 49 

were principally derived from the teachings of a vil- 
lage schoolmistress, in connection with the church 
of England, and from occasional attendance at pub- 
lic services of the church." 

Again, the doctor says, speaking of the revelations 
she has made while in the state of spontaneous ex- 
tasis or trance, " All that she has said tends to con- 
firm the distinction between moral good and moral 
evil, and the impossibility of those who depart this 
life in a state of moral evil attaining hereafter to a 
state of moral goodness ; in this respect being strik- 
ingly dissimilar to the statements of Davis, the Amer- 
ican clairvoyant, but who, according to his own 
subsequent statements, had never been in the state 
of true spiritual extasis when he delivered his lec- 
tures in the mesmeric state." This turns the box 
and lets out the mouse. Emma's ideas of religion 
were derived, directly or indirectly, from the church 
of England ; and her spiritual disclosures " confirm 
the distinction between moral good and moral evil, 
and the impossibility of those who depart this life in 
a state of moral evil attaining hereafter to a state 
of moral goodness/' Now, from Emma's disclosures, 
we know just as much about the future state as 
the church of England does, and no more ; and from 
disclosures made by my clairvoyants, we know just 
as much about the inhabitants of the distant planets 
as I believed about them before I sent them, and no 
more. From whence the doctor derived his ideas of 
religion, he docs net inform us; but from some of 
Emma's disclosures, I should think he was a little 
tinged with German neology. 

So also from the disclosures of Davis. The world 
knows just as much about the future state of the 
5 



50 



THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 



dead as Davis himself knows when in the normal 
state, and no more. 

As Emma seems to be somewhat a noted English 
clairvoyant, we must give the reader an account of 
her visit to the moon, and her lunar description of 
that planet, as it comes to us in the language of her 
mesmerizer : — 

" Her statements were to the effect that the moon 
is inhabited ; that the inhabitants she saw were very 
small — dwarfs — not larger than children on our 
earth. Their heads were large in proportion to their 
bodies, and the mouth vertical rather than horizontal ; 
their voices harsh and rough, and resembling the 
sound of distant thunder; and when they spoke, the 
speech seemed to come up from the bowels. Their 
insides were not quite like ours — their lungs, espe- 
cially, were different. She saw food — something 
that looked somewhat like bread, but they did not 
call it by that name. She saw only one animal, 
something like a small pig. Their dwellings were 
constructed of pieces of rocks, covered over with 
green stuff resembling gorse. They were very low, 
for she could put her hand to the top. The place did 
not look like what she conceived the moon to be ; 
but a large place, and very rocky, with immense 
precipices and lofty mountains. The ' little folks,' 
as she called the inhabitants, could clamber up these 
rocks with their hands and feet, so fast that she could 
not catch them. ' Is there any water there ? ' < Yes ; 
but it does not look like our water, but more like 
milk and water, and yet is clear. (Meaning, probably, 
that it is of greater density than our water.) It lies 
in the bottom of hollows, and down the steep preci- 
pices. The " little folks " can walk on this w^ater, and 



OPPOSITION LI 51 

not sink. They are very light They wear clothes, 
but they arc very simple, and all alike. They seem 
good sort of people. They have a curious way of 
jumping on the back of each other. A very little 
baby was seen in a sort of cradle. It died. They 
said, What signified that? it had gone to sleep; but 
they did not mean sleep, but that it was dead. " 

As the attention of the world is so much turned to 
the clairvoyant faculty, or spiritual disclosures, there 
are some points in this lunar description which claim 
particular attention. And first, we shall notice that 
Emma is not a scholar. Her mesmerizer says she 
can neither read nor write ; hence it is not probable 
that she knows much of astronomy as a science. 
Yet a part of her descriptions of the moon is certainly 
scientific, while other parts of it are certainly the 
mere effect of fancy. It is evident, therefore, that the 
philosophical knowledge of her mesmerizer might 
have tinged her description. She describes the moon 
as being rocky, abounding in immense precipices and 
lofty mountains. Every one familiar with the discov- 
eries made by astronomers, with the best telescopes, 
know this to be universally admitted. Her mountain 
scenery is, by astronomers, often beautifully and 
sublimely portrayed. Her circular ranges of precip- 
itous mountains, enclosing a plain with a single 
conical mountain in the centre, has been the wonder 
and admiration of astronomers of modern times. 
They are described as being higher in proportion 
than terrestrial mountains, having immense quan- 
tities of debris piled up, or scattered in wild con- 
fusion at their base, which is overhung with immense 
projecting crags, threatening to fall below to increase 
the quantity already there. 



52 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

Again : her description of the " little folks " is, in 
part, too scientific to be wholly the work of imagi- 
nation. She describes them as very light, and en- 
dowed with extreme agility to clamber up the steep 
rocks. Now, the magnitude of the moon is about 
one forty-seventh part that of the earth, and its 
density about equal to glass ; while that of the earth 
is nearly equal to cast iron ; and from the known 
principles of gravitation, a body weighing one hun- 
dred pounds on the earth would weigh but about 
sixteen on the moon. So that, if a full-grown person 
should be carried there, he would weigh but about 
twenty-six pounds; and, possessing but a terrestrial 
degree of agility, he could jump upon another's back 
as well as Emma's " little folks." So it may appear, 
at first, that her ignorance of these facts is in favor 
of the clairvoyant faculty. This might be reasonably 
inferred, provided they are as unknown to her raes- 
merizer as they probably are to her, which we pre- 
sume is not the case. But she says their voices were 
" harsh and rough," resembling " distant thunder." 
This is one of the common errors of clairvoyants. 
From repeated and critical observations made on the 
moon when passing Jupiter and some of the larger 
fixed stars, it has been ascertained that her atmos- 
phere cannot exceed half a mile in height, and ex- 
ceedingly rare at that. Such an atmosphere would 
scarcely transmit sound. On the top of Mont Blanc, 
which is only 15,668 feet high, the voice, in speaking, 
is heard comparatively but a short distance, and the 
report of a pistol is proportionally diminished, owing 
to the great rarity of the atmosphere ; yet our at- 
mosphere is known to reflect light forty-five miles 
above the earth's surface, and the report of a burst- 



OPPOSITION mm:. 53 

ing or exploding meteor baa been heard from the 
distance of above seventy miles above the earth. 
Our atmosphere must, therefore, be at least one hun- 
dred and forty times denser than that of the moon. 
Vet Emma's 4; little folks" had voices like* distant 
thunder. They must be a strong-lunged race of 
beings ; for the loudest thunder known to us could 
not be heard at the usual speaking distance in such 
an atmosphere as that of the moon. This spoils the 
whole story, and proves that clairvoyance must be 
united for in some other way than by things being 
actually Been. Now, why will people suffer them- 
selves to be led into the mire by this ignis fatiuts, 
rather than follow the dictates of sober reason and 
common sense 1 

My own clairvoyant described the moon very dif- 
ferently. She said it was not inhabited ; that there 
was no water there, and so little air, she could 
scarcely breathe ; and that there was no vegetation 
there, and scarcely any thing that resembled earth, 
but all was barren rock. Her description of the 
mountains was similar to that of Emma's. We 
could offer many philosophical reasons for there being 
neither animals nor plants on the moon like those on 
the earth. By our best telescopes, a spot on the 
moon, less than two hundred feet in diameter, may 
be distinctly seen. There is no water of that extent ; 
and if there is any, it would not evaporate in so thin 
an atmosphere. Therefore, there is no rain or dew 
there. No clouds have ever been seen there. Emma 
represents the "little folks " as subject to death. 
They are sinners, then, and in a fallen state. I 
wonder if they have any plan of salvation. 
5* 



54 THE SPIEITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

The following appeared in " The Hartford Daily 
Times," June 3, 1853 : — 

" Clairvoyant Examinations. — Price established 
for Examination of Disease and Prescription per- 
sonally ', One Dollar. — Dr. Swan and Madame John- 
son, of New York City. — These well-known cel- 
ebrated mesmeric and botanic physicians have ar- 
rived in town, and taken rooms at the Revere House, 
Main Street, Hartford, Conn., for a short time, where 
they will be happy to wait upon all those who may 
favor them with a call. Through the solicitations of 
their patients, the doctor has concluded to remain 
here for a time longer, to accommodate the sick. 
Other engagements will compel him to be absent for 
a short time ; but he will soon return and locate him- 
self permanently in this city, where he will endeavor 
to exert his best abilities in relieving the afflicted. 
He would say to those who may wish their advice, 
either mesmerically or otherwise, that no one need 
hesitate a moment in having an examination made 
of their system, if diseased ; if not satisfied, no pay 
will be taken. 

" Madame Johnson, while in the clairvoyant sleep, 
will describe to the patient, point out the symptoms, 
locate the disease, and prescribe the remedy that will 
make a speedy cure. She has successfully examined, 
within the last eight years, over twenty-four thousand 
patients, and has not, as yet, been known to make a 
failure. Her examinations are all warranted to be 
correct ; thousands are ready to testify to this fact ; 
no other clairvoyant dare make this assertion ; she 
can confidently be depended upon on all matters of 
importance. 

" Dr. Swan and Madame Johnson have superior 



OPPOSITION LINS. DO 

advantages over many other clairvoyants. They pre- 
pare their own medicines; they have been very suc- 
cessful in the treatment of all old chronic or acute dis- 
eases, and invite the attention of the public to the 
following, viz., scrofula, erysipelas, white swellings, 
lumbago, neuralgia, tic douloureux, rheumatism, can- 
cers, lung complaints, bronchial affections, dropsy of 
the heart or blood, and female complaints, all of 
which are scientifically treated. 

u N. B. — To those who wish, Madame Johnson 
will give the psychometrical or phrenological delin- 
eations of character, without having any letter from 
the unknown party. All that is necessary for her to 
know is, when the person was last heard from. She 
will also give a correct account of absent friends, 
describe places and persons, — whether in prosperity 
or adversity, sickness, death, or health, — lawsuits, 
lost or stolen property, and all kinds of business trans- 
actions. 



56 



THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 



CHAPTER V. 

FURTHER EXPERIMENTS OF THE AUTHOR. — NO ELEC- 
TRICAL ACTION IN MESMERISM. — EVIL EFFECTS OF 
SPIRITUAL MANIFESTATIONS. — THE TRANSFIGURA- 
TION. — AN ANGEL APPEARED TO JOHN THE REVE- 
LxVTOR. 

While my attention was directed to my own 
experiments, it appeared evident that mesmerism was 
a science, the agent of which is electricity. Having ■ 
tried various experiments to detect the operation of 
it, all with apparent success, I reflected that, if elec- 
tricity was drawn from a subject, that subject could 
not be mesmerized, provided he had the means of 
keeping up the equilibrium of that fluid in his system ; 
and if he was immediately connected with the earth 
by a good conductor, he would have the means, and 
could not be affected by the passes. 

Accordingly, experiments were tried by seating sub- 
jects, holding one end of a chain in the hand, while 
the other was buried in the moist earth ; when I found 
myself unable to produce the mesmeric effect in the 
least degree, yet had no difficulty in putting the same 
subjects into that state in the usual way. 

This seemed to demonstrate the position, that if 
electricity was drawn from the subject, the deficiency 
would be supplied from the earth ; and if it was 
imparted to him, it would pass off to the earth ; and 
in either case, the state of the subject would remain 
the same. 

But as I became acquainted more extensively with 



OPPOSITION LINE, 



97 



the subject, and began to witness the experiments of 
others in various parts of the country, I soon learned 
that there was no electricity about it. 

Some of my experiments were published in a peri- 
odical called " The Magnet," and soon repeated by 
others, many of whom obtained the same results — 
some by the same means, others by a mere effort of 
the will. To change the polarity of a subject, some 
found it unnecessary to mesmerize with the arms 
crossed; but simply will it to be done, and it was 
done. In exciting a phrenological organ to action, 1 
was always careful to hit the right one ; but there 
were others, not knowing where these organs were 
located, who would often mistake and excite one for 
another. But it was all just as well. If the operator 
intended to excite combativeness, but made a mistake 
and excited philoprogenitiveness, it was just as well ; 
combativeness was aroused, and neither he nor the 
subject knew the difference. 

And, finally, I perceived it made no difference what 
means were employed to produce an effect: it was 
only a determination in the mind of the operator to 
produce it, and it was done. Mesmer sometimes 
magnetized his subjects through a door, he being in 
one room, and his subject in another. 

But when the commissioners came to test the mag- 
netic influence, they placed the subject at the door. 
pretending that Mesmer was on the other side, when. 
in reality, he was not; but it made no difference; the 
subject was magnetized just the same as though there 
had been a Mesmer the other side of the door. 

It is evident, therefore, that the mind only is affected 
primarily, and the body but secondarily, if at all. 

There are some cases where many a long mile 



58 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

intervenes between the operator and his subject, and 
yet the effect is the same as when the passes are made 
over the person. 

It was generally understood, that, when manipula- 
tions were made, the subject should also be enveloped 
in the will of the operator to produce the effect ; and 
the more frequently it is produced, the less need there 
is of means, save the will alone. Another fact should 
also be noticed. The subjects of different operators 
exhibit different phenomena, the subjects of one being 
different, in some respects, from those of every other. 

To illustrate this still further: my own subjects 
appeared in a profound sleep, and entirely insensible 
to every thing around them ; yet most of them in what 
is called the state of transfer. 

Some operators are unable to close an eye, or give 
their subjects the least appearance of sleep, yet, in 
other respects, produce the usual phenomena. The 
subjects of others seem sensible of every thing 
around them, conversing with one as well as another 
without being put en rapport The clairvoyants of 
some, when they pretend to go to a place by riding in 
a carriage, exhibit such a jostling motion as a carriage 
gives a person actually riding; others, under the same 
circumstances, exhibit no motion at all. 

The clairvoyants of some, in examining the sick, 
place their hands on their own persons : for instance, 
if to examine the head of a patient, lay their hand on 
their own heads. Others examine without moving a 
hand. 

So in spiritual disclosures. Some are rapping 
mediums, and some are writing mediums, while others 
are table-tipping mediums. Some remain in the body, 
and receive the visits of departed spirits ; others leave 
the body, and go to the spirit land. 



OPPOSITION LINK. 59 

Now, why this difference? Suppose A becomes a 
mesmerizer, and gets up a dozen 01 twenty subjects. 
They all exhibit the same phenomena. Now, B comes 
from a distance to make him a visit. He sees A 
mesmerize a few of his subjects, and for the first time 
witnesses the mysterious effect. He goes home and 
becomes a mesmerizer himself; but his subjects are 
all just like A's. 

Again : suppose B had fallen in where he would 
have witnessed the table tippings; he would have 
gone home and told the wonderful story, and he and 
his neighbors would have got up an harmonial circle, 
and some of them, the most credulous, would have 
been mediums. 

And now for the cause. When I first began to 
hear about mesmerism, and before I ever saw any 
thing of it, I made up my mind how a person would 
look and act in that state; and the first one I mes- 
merized was the first I ever saw in that state, and 
she looked and acted just as I expected. And had I 
expected she would set a table to tipping, or have 
written a communication from the dead, or have 
delivered an oral one, she would have done it. 

This is generally the case with others : before they 
become mesmerizers, they either see something of it, 
or hear enough to enable them to form an opinion 
concerning the appearance of a person in that state ; 
and when they come to practise, their subjects look 
and act just as they expected, or as they have seen 
othr 

The cause of the difference, therefore, appears to be 
this: all operators beforehand do not happen to think 
alike with regard to the appearance of a mesmerized 
person. Hence, results in mesmerism, clairvoyance, 



60 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

spiritual disclosures, &c, are such as are anticipated 
by the parties concerned, and are in harmony with 
their theories, creeds, or prepossessed opinion. 

Those who believe electricity is the agent employed 
prove it by their experiments. Those who believe the 
will alone does the work prove it by their experiments. 
Those who believe in a future state of rewards and 
punishment prove, by their clairvoyants, the existence 
of heaven and hell in the popular sense of these words ; 
while he who believes in the universal salvation of all 
men proves it also by his clairvoyants ; and at the 
same time, the infidel, by his clairvoyants, proves all 
beyond the grave an entire blank, and that there is 
neither angels nor spirits. Those who believe the moon 
is inhabited prove it in the same way ; and those, 
also, who believe it is not inhabited. 

Now, how much wiser is the world on these sub- 
jects than it was before any of these wonderful dis- 
closures were made? "Wonderful indeed; but the 
greatest wonder is, why so many are so completely 
deceived. 

One thing is certain : whether the thing is a science 
or not, or whether any of the phenomena can be 
accounted for or not, to one who takes a general 
survey of it, it is evident that no reliance can be placed 
on any of its disclosures. Yet there are men among 
us at the present time, and not a few occupying emi- 
nent positions in society, who are trying to maintain 
its claims to a science, and thus giving an unholy 
sanction to the practice of it. We shall have occasion 
hereafter to give the names of some who ought to 
blush to be found in such a position. 

To these reflections we subjoin the following from 
the " Western Watchman," headed " Spirit Rap- 
pers : " — 



oppofti noN i.i 61 

%i Keep away from them. Keep your children away 
from them. Do you ask why . ? Becatfee, — 

•• I. They certainly do no good. They teach nothing 
that is worth knowing, they relieve no pain, they 
sanctify no heart, they save no soul. If they rap on 
tables, they do not supply them with food ; if they 
shake and lift them, they do no servant's hire in 
moving them nor washing dishes. A man might 
have forty thousand such spirits in his house, yet be 
no better off, either in soul, body, or estate. 

•• 2, They have done much mischief. Many have 
become insane by running after these spirit rappers. 
The young have been led to trifle with serious and 
sacred things. The Bible has been brought into con- 
tempt. Some who professed to be disciples of Christ 
have avowed infidel sentiments by the influence of 
these rappings. Their tendency is to turn the mind 
from God, the concerns of the soul, and eternity. 

" 3. Let them alone, because it is wicked and dan- 
gerous to meddle with them. God has forbidden us to 
4 seek unto familiar spirits that peep and mutter,' or 
to have any thing to do with witches, necromancers, 
and devils. He has, in all ages, allowed devils to do 
some strange and wonderful things, to try and prove 
men. He has forewarned us of this. If he has given 
4 lying spirits ' leave to tempt this generation, will you 
run into the temptation ? No. Let all who value 
their own peace and safety keep away. Do not invite 
the devil to ruin you." 

Much is said by the advocates of mesmerism con- 
cerning the fact that angels formerly visited men of 
old, as a proof that the spirits of the dead now visit 
the living. But, although men in this life were some- 
times called angels, there is a higher order of beings 
G 



62 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

above men that are called angels. This is evident 
from the circumstance that Christ was made a little 
lower than the angels. (Heb. xi. 7, 9, 16.) 

That such superior beings appeared to men of old 
is no proof of the present pretended spiritual disclo- 
sures. First, because they appeared to holy men, 
with, perhaps, but few exceptions, as in the case of 
Balaam. While clairvoyants, mediums, &c, as a 
general thing, make no pretension to holiness of heart, 
but, according to their general theory, it is of little 
consequence : the vicious are as sure to attain to per- 
fect happiness hereafter as the virtuous, only not in 
quite so short a time. Second, there is no proof in 
the Scriptures that the spirits of dead men, who ever 
had an existence on the earth, ever did appear to 
living men in the flesh. 

It is generally believed that Moses appeared on the 
mount of transfiguration long centuries after he was 
dead. But the Scriptures do not so inform us. Christ 
first admonished his disciples to beware of the leaven 
(doctrine) of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees, and 
then immediately, in refutation of the doctrine of the 
Sadducees, went on to preach the astonishing doctrine 
of a resurrection from the dead, and finally, in demon- 
stration of it, he gave Peter, James, and John a vision 
of his coming "in the glory of his Father," and of the 
resurrection of the dead. 

Now, unless Christ's second coming and resurrec- 
tion of the dead took place then, Moses and Elias, in 
person or spirit, were not there. But as it was a 
vision of the future, it shows what will be in the future , 
when the vision shall be fulfilled; when Moses and 
Elias, " at the resurrection, at the last day," will be in 
the kingdom ; when Christ comes in the glory of his 



OPPOSITION LINE. 03 

Father, to reward every man as his works shall be. 
Then Moses will be rewarded with eternal life, by a 
resurrection which our Savior was aiming to prove, 
in opposition to the Sadducees. (Sec "The Chris- 
tian's Only Hope," by the author, pp. 26-28.) 

Again : it is said that John saw and conversed with 
the spirit of one of the old prophets. Rev. xxii. 9, 
" For I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren 
the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of 
this book : worship God." 

The petsonage that John attempted to worship is 
not declared to be one of the prophets, but John's fel- 
low-servant; that is, one that served the same God, 
and one who also was a fellow-servant of John's 
brethren the prophets; that is, one that had served 
the prophets, and was then serving John, and at the 
same time was serving God. Moreover, in the sixth 
verse he is expressly called an angel; also in the 
sixteenth verse. It appears further that the whole 
book of Revelation was given to John by an angel. 
(See Rev. i. 1.) 

But suppose we take the position that the personage 
John attempted to worship was one of the old proph- 
: it could not have been one of the dead ones, 
because " the dead know not any thing, neither have 
they any more a reward; for the memory of them is 
forgotten." (Ec. ix. 5.) The dead lose their memory ; 
but the angel seen by John remembered he had served 
the prophets, or had been one himself, therefore he 
was one that was not dead ; and if he was one of the 
prophets, he was Enoch or Elijah. 

Again: it is said the spirits of the dead have often 
been seen by the living, which is proof that they do 
return to the earth occasionally. But a little attention 



64 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

to this subject, and a few grains of common sense, 
will convince the candid that these appearances do 
not so much as prove the existence of such spirits. It 
is generally believed that death is a separation of the 
spirit from the body. If so, the spirit of a living per- 
son cannot be seen out of the body. But there are 
innumerable cases in which the apparitions (as it is 
called) of living persons have been seen, which is 
generally considered as an omen of the immediate 
death of the persons. 

Now, what can the apparition of a living person be ? 
It is not the real person, neither is it the real soul, 
spirit, or ghost of the person ; for the person is not 
dead ; the soul and body have not separated. 

Even if we take for granted the existence of the 
disembodied spirit, in such cases it must be admitted 
that the spirit is seen where none is really present. 
And since it is so, why may not the spirit of the dead 
be seen where none is really present? One would 
not be a greater phantasm than the other, and neither 
would prove the existence of the spirits of the dead or 
living. But this is not all: such appearances, if they 
prove any thing relating to the spirit, prove too much ; 
for they prove that inanimate objects and brutes have 
spirits as well as men. 

Who ever saw or heard of a spirit, apparition, or 
ghost of a dead or living person making its appear- 
ance entirely naked ? They always appear clothed, 
or in a winding sheet or coffin. 

Take, for instance, the spirit of Captain Mcintosh, 
which appeared in England not long since, who also 
had died in India. He appeared dressed in the full 
uniform of an English captain, every article on him of 
which must have had a spirit as well as himself. Or, 



OPPOSITION LINE. 65 

if the spirit of the uniform was not present, then his 
spirit (if he had any) was not. 

The spirits, ghosts, or apparitions of horses, dogs, 
and other animals have all been seen in a multitude 
of eases. Yet it is not pretended these things have 
spirits. The most, therefore, that can be said in such 
cases is, that such appearances prove the wonderful 
power of imagination. 

Let us reason on this subject like men, and we shall 
Bee no more proof of disclosures being made by the 
spirits of the dead than we have of those that seem 
to be the spirits of dogs, horses, old clothes, coffins, 
and winding sheets. 
6* 



66 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 



CHAPTER VI. 

PHENOMENA OF MESMERISM EXPLAINED ON THE SUP- 
POSITION THAT ELECTRICITY IS THE AGENT CALLED 
INTO ACTION. — THE REV. J. BOVEE DODS'S THEORY. 

We should say but little on this subject, were it 
not that, of late, a fresh and vigorous attempt is 
making to account for table tipping, furniture moving, 
and spiritual rapping, by referring them to electrical 
phenomena. In the abstractedly moral sense of the 
thing, it matters not by what means the thing is 
brought about. All a moralist needs to know about it 
is, that it is a great evil. We have described the usual 
phenomena of mesmerism in its various states, pro- 
gressively rising one above another, until it reaches 
the climacteric state of spontaneous extasis or trance, 
through which, it is said, the purest disclosures are 
made by the spirits of the departed dead. These 
disclosures are more or less repugnant to the gospel 
of Jesus Christ. This we shall endeavor to show in 
another chapter. 

Now, it is certainly wrong to practise any thing that 
in the end has an evil tendency. Suppose, therefore, 
electricity is the agent employed in the mystery; it 
no more justifies the practice of mesmerism than 
drunkenness is justified by our knowledge of the 
agent employed in producing it. But, as yet, it must 
be allowed that it is an unsettled question whether 
electricity is the agent or not. If it is not, it may be 
something more unhallowed, unholy, and unclean. 
Before we call it electricity, we should have the most 



OPPOSITION I, INK. 67 

positive demonstration oi' the fact, otherwise we may 

be doing a great injury to mankind ; for it will be 
difficult, at the present clay, to persuade people there 
is any harm in investigating the operations of a nat- 
ural agent. We shall, therefore, endeavor to give the 
sum of evidence and argument in favor of the elec- 
trical agency of the mystery, that the reader may the 
better judge of the matter. 

That electricity is drawn from, or communicated to, 
ibject, I know of no more plausible evidence than 
that which appears from my own experiments. We 
will admit it, and see to what extent we can explain 
the different phenomena on that admission. But we 
can scarcely proceed another step without assuming 
another improved principle or position. We will 
therefore suppose that sensation, in the normal state, 
is produced by the vibrations of electricity, forced 
into action by the energy of the will acting on, and 
similarly vibrating, the nervous system. So, to smell, 
the effluvia entering the nose comes in contact with, 
and vibrates certain nerves which communicate with, 
the brain, the storehouse of sensation. And, to hear, 
the sonorous body first gives vibrations to the atmos- 
phere through which they are conveyed to the audi- 
tory nerve, which further conveys them to the brain. 
Yet in neither case is the effluvia or atmospheric 
vibrations conveyed to the brain, but the electrical 
vibrations produced by them. So, in every sensation, 
a vibratory current of electricity is sent through the 
nervous system, and thence escapes into the circum- 
ambient air, or other medium. 

Now, when an operator has mesmerized his sub- 
ject, they hold the same relation to each other that 
the two coatings of a Leyden jar do when charged; 



68 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

and every sensation of the operator is a partial dis- 
charge, as it were, of the jar : the fluid escaping from 
him is received by the subject, with its accompanying 
vibrations, which are the sensations of the operator. 
To illustrate this still further : suppose A mesmerizes 
B. A draws a fluid from him, say the positive. A 
becomes positive, and B negative by induction, or 
minus his positive fluid, which is now in the person 
of A. A now feels the scratch of a pin on his right 
hand. This vibrates, and sets at liberty a portion of 
his positive fluid which he took from B. The escape 
of this fluid is the sensation of pain to A, in the same 
manner that the escape of caloric from the hand is 
the sensation of cold. This fluid, so escaping from 
A's right hand, is received in B's left And why in 
his left ? Because, when A mesmerized him, his 
right hand came in contact with B's left side, and 
took the positive fluid from it ; and it has now gone 
back where it came from, and carried A's pain along 
with it. But when I mesmerized a subject with my 
arms crossed, so as not to change the polarity, a pain 
in my right hand went into the right hand of the 
subject. So far, the electro theory seems to be de- 
monstrated. But we have shown that the mere effort 
of the will of the operator has been known to pro- 
duce the whole effect ; indeed, it remains to be proved 
whether any of the various modes of operation, or 
any of the means used, have any effect further than 
to establish the faith of the parties, and give a greater 
determination to the will of the operator. 

It is a fact that, in my own experiments, (with few 
exceptions,) I anticipated their results. And since 
they resulted as I expected, it follows that I willed 
my subjects, and the effect of the will alone produced 



POSITION mm:. 09 

the result, ami the means made use of served only to 

lead to Bach conclusions. It follows, therefore, if the 
agent in the affair is electricity, the effort of the will 
is an evolution of it in the system. This is the posi- 
tion I took and endeavored to maintain in my pub- 
lie 1 and is the position some are taking at 
nt. 
The Rev. John Bovee Dods, in his public lectures 
delivered in Boston, says, in his first, " Before I pro- 
1 any further, I would remark, that I consider 
mai. magnetism' a very inappropriate name. 
Iiould be called spiritualism, or mental elec- 
tricity, because it is the direct impulse of the mind 
upon the mind and bodies of others. As it is the 
science of mind and its powers, so it is the highest 
and most sublime science in the whole realm of 
nature, and as far transcends all others as godlike 
mind transcends matter. . . . (Note 1.) Once 
more : there is, in the nervous system, no blood. 
By the nervous system, I mean the brain and all its 
ramifications. The blood belongs exclusively to the 
circulating system, which embraces the veins and 
arteries. I grant that the blood vessels pass round 
the convolutions of the brain ; but in the nerve itself 
there is no blood, and the whole mass of the brain is 
but a congeries of nerves. These are charged with a 
nervo-vital fluid, which is manufactured from elec- 
tricity. Hence the circulating system containing the 
blood, and the nervous a containing the mag- 
netic fluid, are not to be blended, but distinctly con- 
red. Now, as a human being may lack the 
proper quantity of blood in his circulating system. 
he may lack the proper quantum of the nervo-vital 
fluid in his nervous system. Xow, let a person whose 



70 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

brain is fully charged come in contact with one whose 
brain is greatly wanting in its due measure of this 
fluid, and let the person possessing the full brain 
gently and unchangeably hold his mind upon the 
other, and by the action of his will the fluid will 
pass from the full brain to the other, until the equi- 
librium between the fluids in the two brains is at- 
tained. The sudden change in the receiving brain 
produces a coolness and a singular state of insen- 
sibility. (Note 2.) 

" This is magnetism ; and it is in perfect accordance 
with all the principles of philosophy in the known 
realms of nature. If any one denies the operation 
of the law of equilibrium in this case, then he here 
makes a charm amidst the immensity of God's works, 
which he can nowhere else discover." (Note 3.) 

After the introduction of his second lecture, he 
says, — 

" Having made these remarks, which the occasion 
seems to demand, I will now proceed to a direct consid- 
eration of tne nervo- vital fluid in the human brain. 
It is admitted, the air we breathe is composed of two 
substances — namely, oxygen and nitrogen. Their 
relative qualities are about one fifth oxygen and four 
fifths nitrogen. But these are not all. It is evident 
that hydrogen and electricity are also component 
parts of air. Oxygen and electricity are the prin- 
ciples of flame and of animal life, while nitrogen 
extinguishes both. The air in its compound state is 
drawn into the lungs. The oxygen and electricity 
are communicated to the blood, which is charged 
with iron, while the nitrogen is disengaged and ex 
pired. This iron, which gives color to the blood, U 
instantly rendered magnetic under the influence 



POSITION link. 71 

of electricity, analogous to the needles in the gal- 
vanic battery, which become magnets by induction. 
(Note 4-) The blood is al the Bame time oxydized 

by the oxygen of the air, and instantly becomes 
cherry red. Thus oxygen generates an acidity in the 
blood, in some degree answering to the solution of 
the sulphate of copper in the galvanic battery. The 
blood thus magnetically prepared at the lungs is 
thrown upon the heart, and forced into the arteries, 
arterial blood is red. It is propelled to the 
. driven into every possible ramification, 
and is collected and carried back in the veins, through 
the other ventricle of the heart to the lungs, for a 
fresh supply of the electro-magnetic power. Hence 
venous blood is dark, and is unfit to be thrown into 
the arterial system a second time till it has again 
come in contact with the oxygen and electricity of 
the air. The blood thus discharged is propelled 
through its living channels, and this friction causes 
the electro-magnetic power to escape from the circu- 
lating system into the nervous system, for which it 
has a strong affinity, and, being secreted by the brain, 
it becomes the nervo-vital fluid, or animal galvanism, 
h is important here to remark that the blood, in its 
friction through the arteries, has given off its electro- 
magnetic power into the nervous system. The blood 
thus freed assumes a dark appearance in the veins, 
and becomes entirely negative. The lungs being 
charged with a fresh supply of electricity, become 
positive. Hence the blood is drawn from the veins 
to the lungs, on the same principle that the negative 
and the positive, in electricity, rash together. (Note 5.) 
" From the above observations, it will be perceived 
that every muscle of the human body, every organ 



72 



THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 



and gland, is polar, and by the negative and positive 
principles, as above noticed, animal life is sustained 
and perpetuated through the action of the lungs and 
blood. (Note 6.) 

" We thus perceive that the nervo-vital fluid is 
manufactured out of electricity, taken into the lungs 
at every inspiration. It completely charges the whole 
brain when that organ is in a healthy state. The 
nerves composing the brain are of three kinds, namely, 
the nerves of sensation, the nerves of voluntary 
motion, and the nerves of involuntary motion. I 
make these three divisions, so that I may be the more 
readily understood when speaking of nervous action. 
I desire you to bear in mind that these three classes 
of nerves are all charged with the nervo-vital fluid, 
which is exactly prepared to come in contact with 
mind. 

" We put forth a will. That will stirs the nervo- 
vital fluid in the voluntary nerves. This fluid causes 
the voluntary nerves to vibrate. The galvanic vibra- 
tion of these nerves contracts the muscles. The 
muscles contracting, raises the arm, and that arm 
raises foreign matter. So, we see, it is through this 
concatenation or chain that the mind comes in 
contact with the grossest matter in the universe. 
(Note 7.) 

" It is evident that there is no direct contact between 
mind and gross matter. There is no direct contact 
between the length of a thought and the breadth of 
that door. Nor is there any more direct contact 
between my mind and hand than there is between 
my mind and the stage on which I stand. Thought 
cannot touch my hand; yet it must be true that mind 
can come in contact with matter, otherwise I could 



OPPOSITION LINE. 73 

not raise my hand at all by the energies of my will. 
Hence it must be true thai the highest and most sub- 
tile of inert matter in the universe, being the next e 
to spirit, can come in contact with the mind. And 
electricity, changed into nervo-vital fluid, (which is 
living galvanism,) is certainly the highest and most 
ethereal inert substance of which we can form any 
conception. Hence, as before remarked, it must be 
true that we put forth a will. By the energies of that 
will this galvanic substance, or nervous fluid, is proudly 
stirred ; that stirring vibrates the nerves ; this vibrates 
and contracts the muscles ; the muscles raise the arm ; 
and the arm moves dead matter. 

" Notwithstanding the plausibility of this argument, 
it will yet be said that, as physiologists contend that 
no one can explain through what medium the mind 
comes in contact with matter, or even how a muscle 
is made to contract and raise the arm, and as the 
lecturer has undertaken to explain it. we have a right 
to demand positive proof. This demand being 
rational, I will endeavor to meet it. I am, then, to 
prove that the nervo-vital fluid (which is perfect gal- 
vanism) is indeed the agent by which we contract 
the muscles and raise the arm. This being done, my 
point is gained, and the medium through which mind 
comes in contact with matter is established. 

" I would first remark, that it is common when 
criminals are executed that their bodies are delivered 
over to medical men for dissection. Now, take a 
human body, and let it be conveyed from the gallows 
to the charnel house, and laid upon the dissecting 
table. Let a continuous shock from a strong galvanic 
battery be given, and the muscles of the dead man 
will contract, and exhibit many frightful contortions. 
7 



74 



THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 



Many interesting experiments of this character have 
been published. The dead man has been known to 
spring upon his knees, jolt them upon the floor, make 
violent gesticulations with his hands, move his head, 
roll his eyes, and chatter his teeth. The student, 
unused to such ghastly exhibitions, has left the room, 
or fainted away; and even the experienced physician 
has started back with horror, at the frightful contor- 
tions which he himself had made. Now, what was it 
that contracted the muscles of this dead man ? There 
is but one answer to the question. It was galvanism. 
And what is galvanism but electricity in a changed 
form ? so that, instead of giving the system a sudden 
shock like electricity, it merely produces a singular 
vibrating sensation upon the nerves, which causes the 
muscles to contract. It is nothing else. Electricity, 
galvanism, magnetism, or attraction and repulsion are 
but different positions of the same common fluid. 
Now, as galvanism contracts the muscles of a dead 
man, and is the only power known that, when arti- 
ficially applied, can contract the muscles of the living, 
so it must be the agent employed by the will to con- 
tract the muscles, and enable us to perform all the 
voluntary motions of life. Whatever may be the 
opinions of others, I consider this argument irresistible, 
and shall hold it as such until it is fairly refuted." 
(Note 8.) 

Again : in his third lecture, he says, — 
" The question now comes up in proper order before 
us : Is there any power in mind to produce a result by 
simply willing it ? I contend that there is, while the 
opposers of mesmerism contend that there is not. 
Mesmerism, then, must stand or fall on the existence 
or non-existence of such a power. 



OPPOSITION LINK. 75 

" And, first, let me appeal to you as Christians. If 
you deny that mind or spirit has any power to produce 
a physicial result, then how does the Creator govern 
the universe? How can his Spirit come in contact 
with matter so as to produce any physicial results? 
The creation and government of the world are repre- 
sented in Scripture as the result of the divine will. 
4 He dpeth according to his will in the army of heaven, 
and among the inhabitants of the earth.' The creation 
of the world and all its appendages is represented as 
the etVcet of his will. < He said, Let there be light, and 
there was light.' l He spake, and it was done; he 
commanded, and it stood fast.' If, then ? the Infinite 
Spirit, by holding his will unchangeably upon all the 
multifarious objects of creation, moves unnumbered 
worlds, and governs the universe, then there is also an 
energy and power in the human spirit proportionate 
to its greatness. If you grant that the Infinite Spirit, 
by putting forth an infinite will, can produce infinite 
results, then surely a feeble, finite spirit, by putting 
forth a feeble, finite will, can produce a feeble, finite 
result. I only ask you, as Christian philosophers, the 
admission that the same cause shall produce the same 
effect. (Note 9.) If, however, you deny the cor- 
rectness of this conclusion, then I have only to say, 
that you furnish the atheist with a weapon by which 
he is sure to defeat you. Argue as long as you please, 
and even drive the honest atheist from any other 
ground, and he will at last say, ' Well, admit there is 
a God ; yet he can do nothing.' 

" Your Bible says, ' God is a spirit.' Hence he has 
no hands, feet, nor physical body as we have. He 
may, therefore, will and will to all eternity; yet he 
can do nothing, because spirit, by its mere mental 



76 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

action, cannot come in contact with, nor in the least 
affect, matter. (Note 10.) < We know this,' says the 
atheist, ' from observation and experience. And what 
can we reason but from what we know?' A human 
being, for instance, may sit down and exercise all his 
mental energies. He may will and will to endless 
ages; yet he can do nothing, cannot produce the 
least physical result, unless he uses his hands or comes 
in bodily contact. I now ask those Christians who 
deny that the mind has such power as we are con- 
tending for, How can they answer this argument of the 
atheist? I contend that they are not able to meet it. 
There is no human ingenuity beneath these heavens 
that the Christian opposers of the mesmeric power can 
summon to their aid adequate to the task. Indeed, it 
implies a contradiction in terms, and involves them in 
the following compound dilemma: If the Infinite 
Spirit, by the energies of his will, can produce infinite 
results, then a finite spirit, by its will, can produce a 
finite result. But a finite spirit, by its will, cannot 
produce any result ; so an infinite spirit, by its will, 
cannot produce any result. Of this dilemma they 
may take either horn. I am willing to meet any 
intelligent clergyman in controversy who denies the 
truth of mesmerism ; and before this enlightened con- 
gregation, who shall be our jurors, I will either make 
him acknowledge the mesmeric power, or drive him 
to atheism. I will leave him no other alternative. 
(Note 11.) 

" As the subject of mesmerism is directly connected 
with the powers of the mind, and as this is the pivot 
on which the question between its advocates and 
opposers must eventually turn, you will permit me to 
take a wider range in this extensive field. 



oiTosrnoN mm.. 77 

.mst bje - nedium through which the 

eternal Mind comes in contact with gross matter, 
moves unnumbered worlds according to nature's law, 
and sustains and governs the unbounded universe. 
That medium must be the finest, the most rarefied, 
and subtile of inert matter in being. It must be the 
last link in the materia] chain of inert substances that 
ens on the mind. This is electricity. Hence it 
is through electricity that the Great Spirit comes in 
contact with Ins universe. This is evident, because it 
is electricity as it exists in the human system, through 

icb our spirits come in contact with matter. We 
are but an epitome of God's universe, and in us is 
contained every variety of matter and substance in 
being. (Note 12.) 

;i It may now be asked, if electricity is the substance 
through which the Creator comes in contact with 
matter, how, then, could he act when that splendid 
substance had no existence? or, in other words, how 
could he create 6 all things out of nothing' ? I deny 
the assertion that God created all things out of 
nothing, and challenge the proof. Space and du- 
ration exist of necessity, and that space was filled 
with primal matter, which I contend was electricitv. 
(Note 13.) 

" Though it is the commonly received opinion thai 
all things were created out of nothing, yet in all ages 
of the Christian church there have been some eminent 
men of all denominations who have rejected this idea, 
and contended that all things were created out of 
some substance. A more orthodox man than John 
Milton never lived, as all know who have ever read 
that astonishing production of human intellect, h\< 
1 Paradise Lost.' " Here follows an extract from Milton, 
7* 



78 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

proving the eternity of matter. (Note 14.) The lec- 
turer then proceeds : " If something were created 
out of nothing, it could not, in the nature of things, 
have been done progressively or gradually, because 
the instant it became the least possible remove from 
nothing, it would be something. It must, in the very 
nature of things, remain nothing till it becomes some- 
thing, because there is no possible process by which 
it can be gradually brought forward into something, 
for there is no existing medium between something 
and nothing. Now, if nothing were created into 
something, it must have been done instantly ; and if 
instantly, then it must have been something and 
nothing at the same instant, which is the climax of 
absurdity. It is just as absurd as to contend that the 
piece of wood before mentioned was severed at the 
bottom at the same time that it was at the top, or 
that a ray of light could be seen at the sun and the 
earth at the same instant. I shall hold this argument 
sound until some one is able to refute it. Hence I 
contend for the eternal existence of primal matter, 
which is electricity. But even this primal matter 
does not exist independent of Deity. (Note 15.) 

" It will now be said that, on this principle of rea- 
soning, the speaker will make it out that spirit itself 
is matter. If by spirit you mean that which has 
neither length, breadth, or thickness, nor occupies any 
space, then I have only to say that it is a mere 
chimera of the human brain, a nonentity, a nothing. 
Does Deity fill all space ? Then he is of course a 
substance ; a real, living, acting, and thinking Being ; 
otherwise, as Christians, we use words without knowl- 
edge, when we say that he fills immensity with his 
presence. But it may be said that mind is thought, 



opposition LINE. 79 

, and UNDERSTANDING, and then be asked 
whether thought, reason, understanding, &c, occupy 
any space. 

" But I deny that these are mind. Thought, reason, 
and understanding are not mind, but the effects of 
mind. Mind is something supremely higher than all 
these. I yet ask, What is that which thinks, reasons, 
and understands? It is the mind. Then mind is 
something distinct from those effects by which it is 
made manifest. What, then, it may be asked, is 
mind ? I answer, It is that substance which has 
innate or living motion; and the result of that mo- 
tion is thought, reason, understanding, and, therefore, 
power. As electricity is the highest and most subtile 
of inert substances, as it fastens on mind, and is, 
therefore, more easily moved than any other inert 
substance in being, so mind is the next step above 
electricity, is the crowning perfection of all other sub- 
stances in immensity — is living motion ; and the 
result of that motion is thought and power. It is 
the living Spirit from whom emanates electricity, and 
who, out of that electricity, has created all worlds. 
Hence the Creator is a real substance or being, pos- 
sessing personal identity, and is infinite in every per- 
fection of his adorable character. (Note 16.) 

" Electricity, which is an atmospheric emanation 
from God, and which is moved by his will, is that 
substance out of which all worlds and their splendid 
appendages were made. Hence it will be perceived 
that electricity contains all the original properties of 
all the various substances in being. All the varieties 
of the universe around us — all the beauties and 
glories of creation upon which we look with so many 
thrilling emotions of delight — were produced from 



80 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

electricity, which is the inexhaustible fountain of 
primal matter. By the living energies of the divine 
mind, electricity was condensed into g]obes — not 
instantly, but gradually. The heaviest particles took 
the lowest point, or common centre, of our globe, and 
so on, step by step, lighter and lighter, till we reach 
the surface, which is a vegetable mould. On this we 
find water, a substance still lighter than earth ; next 
air, which is lighter than matter; and so on till we 
reach the sun, which is the highest point in relation 
to. our system, because it is the common centre. The 
sun is therefore pure electricity ; hence the twenty- 
nine globes belonging to our system are electrically, 
geologically, and magnetically made. They are but 
twenty-nine magnets revolving around our sun as a 
common centre. (Note 17.) The sun, being pure 
electricity or primal matter, is but an emanation from 
the Deity. It is consequently in a positive state. 
It is impossible that there can be any inherent attrac- 
tion and repulsion in matter. Attraction and repul- 
sion are but different dispositions of electricity. God 
is, therefore, connected with his universe, and super- 
intends all its multifarious operations. Though he is 
intimately united to inert matter, yet he is distinct 
from the whole." (Note 18.) 

From the fourth lecture I shall make but a single 
extract : — 

" On this principle, if the subject be charged too 
much or too little, he cannot see clearly. Or if the 
night be rainy, or even damp and unfavorable to 
electricity, then experiments in clairvoyance must fail, 
or be very imperfect." (Note 19.) 

The fifth lecture is introduced as follows : " We 
are again assembled to take into consideration the 



OPPOSITION LINE. 



81 



subject of mesmerism. Its growing interest in the 
public mind is manifest by the increasing throngs 
that assemble in this chapel to investigate its claims 
to truth and science, and the multitudes that are 
obliged to retire, unable to gain admittance." (Note 
20.) 



82 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 



CHAPTER VII. 

REVIEW OF THE SUBJECT CONTAINED IN THE PRE- 
CEDING CHAPTER.— THE REV. BOVEE DODS'S THE- 
ORY REFUTED. 

" Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain 
deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, 
and not after Christ." — Col. ii. 8. 

" O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding 
profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so 
called, which some professing, have erred concerning the faith. Grace 
be with thee. Amen." — 1 Tim. vi. 20, 21. 

Admitting electricity to be the agent employed in 
mesmerism, we have shown in what manner the sub- 
ject receives the sensations of his operator, and how 
the will of the latter becomes the will of the former. 
This accounts for most of the phenomena up to and 
including dependent clairvoyance. But in ^depend- 
ent clairvoyance the subject sees, hears, and knows 
things which are not seen, heard, or known by the 
operator. ^ The best reason I have ever known to be 
offered for this is, it is through currents of electricity 
emanating from the things seen and described by the 
subject, independent of the will of the operator. 
JFor instance : if a clairvoyant should be sent to 
a distant city, and should there describe a fire in 
a certain street, the emanation of electricity from 
that scene is the medium through which he obtained 
a knowledge of the fact. But we know that clairvoy- 
ants describe scenes long after they are acted ; and 
in some cases they have been known to describe them 
long before they are acted. The latter case, especially, 



OPPOSITION i.im:. '83 

no electrical theory can account for. It is, therefore, 
evident that it is through some other a gent that a knowl- 
edge o( the past and future is obtained by the subject. 

Now, it is not pretended that there is more than 
one agent in the whole affair. But if then 4 is not, it 
cannot be electricity. The ingenuity of the advocates 
of the electrical theory has been severely taxed in 
making electricity the sole agent. To account for 
clairvoyants seeing things past, it has been supposed 
that a passing event stirs a current or vibration of 
electricity which never ceases. These are made per- 
ceptible to the clairvoyant, and give a sensation of 
objects and events in the same manner that rays of 
light, emanating from a luminous body, and entering 
the eye, give us an idea of that body. 

But this would fill all space so full of such an 
infinity of currents or vibrations as to surpass the 
power of the human faculty to distinguish. Upon 
this principle the currents of electricity stirred by our 
first parents in Eden are still going the rounds, mingled 
with the millions of millions which have since joined 
them down to our time. 

But suppose this is the case, still it does not account 
for the fact that clairvoyants see and describe scenes 
which are future. 

We now proceed to examine the " Philosophy of 
Mesmerism," as given by the Rev. J. B. Dods, and 
quoted in the last chapter. To avoid a recapitulation, 
the reader will have the goodness to observe the 
language used above the notes in parenthesis in the 
preceding chapter, and turn to the corresponding notes 
in this. 

(Note 1.) Spiritualism has long since been both 



84 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

the lever and the prop to raise and support every false 
theory or dogma which theorizing mortals can invent. 
Who can name a false doctrine of religion that is not 
sustained by spiritualism ? It is made a subterfuge to 
hide any thing preposterous and absurd. It, in the 
popular sense of the word, proves both sides of any 
question. The popular use of the term is, to make 
obscurity more obscure, and is very unhappily chosen 
in the explanation of a science. Now, to throw the 
whole grand drama of mysterious mesmerism under 
such an zmmeaning and aZZ-meaning term, looks a little 
suspicious. 

(Note 2.) The reader will recollect that my own 
opinion of the phenomena of mesmerism was, that 
the operator drew the positive electric fluid from his 
subject, and that the operator and subject bore the 
same relation to each other that the two sides of a 
Leyden jar do when charged, and that every sensa- 
tion of the operator was a partial discharge as it were 
of the jar; and any effect produced on the operator 
(the positive side of the jar) must be felt by the sub- 
ject by induction, who here represents the negative 
side of the jar. 

This is perfectly philosophical, and in accordance 
with the laws that govern electricity .V For when a 
subject is so mesmerized, he has not his usual or 
natural share of the positive fluid, and must be in an 
abnormal state. This state /called mesmerism. 

But the author referred to in this note says, when 
a person lacks the proper quantum of what he calls 
nervo-vital fluid, it is supplied to him by the operator, 
until there is an equilibrium between the two ; and this 

is MAGNETISM. 

Now, this is not possible ; for the person lacking 



; -ion LINE. 85 

the proper quantum must be in the abnormal b1 

and having his proper quantum imparted to him from 
a full brain, would put him hack into the normal state, 
and he would be ^-mesmerized instead of beii 
merized. 

No truth can be more plain. If electricity has any- 
thing at all to do in the animal economy, he who has 
his proper quantum or natural share must be in a 
natural suite, and he who has not his natural share or 
proper quantum must be in an unnatural state. So, in- 
stead of the operator's equalizing the electrical fluid 
between himself and subject, he must destroy that 
equilibrium to produce an unnatural or mesmeric state. 

(Note 3.) We do not deny " the operation of the 
law of equilibrium," but contend that, "in perfect 
accordance with all the principles of philosophy in the 
known realms of nature," such an equilibrium must 
produce the natural state of the subject ; and to pro- 
duce the mesmeric state, is to destroy nature's equi- 
librium, not restore it. 

(Note 4.) That the iron of the blood is magnetic, 
needs the best of proof. The fact, if it is a fact, is one 
of the strong pillars in the proud temple of electro- 
luerism L^rtd if it is not a fact, that temple must 
totter to its Fall. We shall deny the fact, and call for 
a demonstration of it. 

Vote 5.) That venous blood is negative, and 
arterial is positive, needs also demonstration. 

(Note 6.) I once thought so too, but |uent 

experiments convinced me that the polarity of the 
subject was just what the operator's fancy happened 
to make it. 

(Note 7.) " We thus perceive that the nervo-vital 
8 



86 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

fluid is manufactured out of electricity taken into the 
lungs at every inspiration." 

How do we perceive it? Not by any demonstra- 
tion which is given of the fact, but by the use of a few 
terms manufactured for the purpose of carrying out a 
theory. Now, what do we know by the term u nervo- 
vital fluid" manufactured out of electricity ? Suppose 
we assume that oxygen or hydrogen is the agent in 
mesmerism. Then we should have the nervo-vital 
fluid manufactured out of oxygen or hydrogen, and 
the term oxy-vital fluid or hydro-vital fluid would 
answer the purpose in explanation of the phenomena 
just as well. And if we were called upon to prove 
the existence of either of these principles in the vital 
fluid, we would just turn upon our opponents and 
challenge them, first, to prove the existence of a " ner- 
vo-vital fluid," and then prove the presence of elec- 
tricity in that fluid. If this would not be proving our 
position, still we should not be deeper in the mud than 
our opponents are in the mire. 

Again : it is said in this note, " We put forth a will. 
That will stirs the nervo-vital fluid in the voluntary 
nerves." And again : it is said that this nervo- 
vital fluid is "living galvanism," "perfect galvanism." 
And in demonstration of the manner in which mind 
comes in contact with matter, so as to enable us to 
move our limbs, &c, we are referred to galvanic 
experiments on a dead criminal. 

(Note 8.) And how is the fact demonstrated ? 
First : we are informed that " we put forth a will, 
and that will proudly stirs the nervous fluid, that 
stirring vibrates the voluntary nerves, this contracts 
the muscles, the muscles raise the arm, and the arm 



OPPOSITION LINK. 87 

moves dead matter*" Very well: now, where are we 
to find positive proof of all this? Why, in the in- 
stance given of the dead criminal. But it so happens 
that the dead criminal has no will to pat forth; yet 
his voluntary nerves are " proudly stirred," his limbs 
move, and his violent gesticulations move dead matter. 

Now, if this proves any thing, it proves too much. 
For it proves this: "living galvanism" makes the first 
move, and moves the living mind to " put forth a will." 
But in a dead man, where there is no mind to move 
or will to put forth, it becomes dead galvanism, and 
yet moves the voluntary nerves ; and hence these wild 
ficulations and horrid grimaces are the effect of the 
living mind of the galvanic battery, which here put the 
limbs of a dead man into action. 

(Note 9.) " Is there any power in mind to produce 
a result by simply willing it? " " Mesmerism, then, 
must stand or fall on the existence or non-existence of 
such a power." The question is totally irrelevant to 
the case. The proper question is, Is there any power 
in man to produce a result by simply willing it? I 
contend there is not; and mesmerism must fall on 
the non-existence of such a power. 

That there is such a power in the Deity, no Christian 
can doubt; but until man can, by simply willing, 
k - make one hair white or black," or, " by taking 
thought, can add one cubit unto his stature," it cannot 
be proved that he possesses such a power. Tables 
may tip, and demons may rap, and the devil may run 
>\vine into the sea and drown them; but I challenge 
the world to prove that man, by the mere effort of his 
will) can do either. 

(Note 10.) " Canst thou by searching find out 
God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfec- 



88 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

tion ? For vain man would be wise, though man be 
born like a wild ass's colt." 

Admitting the conclusion drawn in the preceding 
notes, we do, indeed, put into the hands of the 
atheist a weapon by which he is sure to defeat us ; 
for, according to this conclusion, if we admit that 
there is a God, we admit, also, that electricity is the 
god of God ; for it is evident, from said conclusion, 
that he can, indeed, do nothing without electricity, to 
which he is indebted for all his power. 

(Note 11.) " Remember the former things of old : 
for I am God, and there is none else ; I am God, 
and there is none like me." 

The compound dilemma found in this note is im- 
properly stated, and is therefore irrelevant. It should 
be, If an infinite God, by the energies of his will, can 
produce infinite results, then a finite god, by his will, 
can produce a finite result ; but a finite god, by his 
will, cannot produce any result, so an infinite God, 
by his will, cannot produce any result ! Of this di- 
lemma, either horn may be taken. 

And now for the consistency of the argument. If 
it prove that the will of man can produce any result, 
then, by the same kind of sapient logic, I will prove 
that the quills of a porcupine will make a tolerable 
hat, by the same process that the hatter makes a good 
hat out of the fur of the beaver. If the fur of a 
beaver, by the skill of the hatter, will make a good 
hat, then the quills of a porcupine, by the skill of the 
hatter, will make a tolerable hat. But the quills of a 
porcupine, by the skill of the hatter, will not make a 
hat ; so the fur of the beaver, by the skill of the hat- 
ter, will not make a hat. Of this dilemma, either 
horn may be taken. Now, I am willing to meet any 



OPPOSITION link. 80 

intelligent clergyman in controversy who uses such 
logic, and 1 will either make him acknowledge that 

porcupine quills will make hats, or drive him to dfetty 
that one may be made of the fur of be&vers. " 1 

will leave him no other alternative." 

Now, before any thing definite can be proved by 
such logic, the respective qualities and properties of 
the things must be proved to be similar, though dif- 
fering in degrees only. I have proved by Scripture 
that there is but one God, and that there is none like 
him. His divine will, therefore, may and does pro- 
duce But man, not being like him, may have 
a human will, not able to produce effect. There may 
not be any more similarity in the two than there is 
between the quill and fur just alluded to. And be- 
cause man can build a steamship, it does not prove 
that an oyster can make a hod or wheelbarrow. 

(Note 12.) The object of this note is to prove that 
the Great Spirit comes in contact with matter through 
the medium of electricity. But in the instance of 
the dead criminal, electricity comes in contact with 
matter without the effort of a will. This involves 
the advocates of the electrical theory in something 
like " a compound dilemma." If electricity comes in 
contact with matter without the agency of will, 
will may come in contact with matter without the 
agency of electricity. But will cannot come in eon- 
tact with matter without the aid of electricity ; so 
electricity cannot come in contact with matter w 
out the aid of will. Of this dilemma, they may 
take either horn ; or, for their better accommodation, 
we will give them another. If a finite quantity 

iricity can move a finite 4 quantity of dead matter, 
as the limbs of a dead criminal, without the agent y 
8* 



90 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

of human will, then an infinite quantity of electricity 
can move an infinite quantity of matter, as the whole 
universe of God, without the agency of divine will. 
But an infinite quantity of electricity cannot move 
and govern the universe of God, without the agency 
of divine will ; so a finite quantity of it cannot 
move the limbs of a dead man, without the agency 
of human will. Of this dilemma they may take 
either horn. 

(Note 13.) u Through faith we understand that the 
worlds were framed by the word of God, so that 
things which are seen were not made of things which 
do appear." (Heb. xi. 3.) The world could not have 
been made of electricity, which we are told is the 
only primal matter ; because that is a thing that 
appears, or is seen, felt, heard, tasted, and smeli. 
And another inspired apostle gives, as infallible proof, 
seeing and hearing. (Acts i. 3.) So the world must 
either have been made of nothing, or of a material 
wholly unknown to man ; and that has never come 
within the reach of his senses. 

(Note 14.) We wonder if Milton was as orthodox 
in his views of the devil as he was on the eternity of 
matter. If he was, we shall not be at a loss to 
account for the phenomena of mesmerism. 

(Note 15.) The argument in this note is that noth- 
ing, even by divine agency, could not have been created 
into something ; if it were so, then it must have been 
done instantly ; and if instantly, then it must have 
been something and nothing at the same instant, 
which is the climax of absurdity. This is illustrated 
as follows : " We raise an axe, and, at a single blow, 
cut in two a piece of wood one inch in diameter. 
Now, it is certain that this wood was not severed 



OPPOSITION LINK. 91 

instantly in all its parts. If it were, then the lower 
part would have been cut at the same instant that 
the upper part was; which is perfectly absurd, and 
therefore impossible." Now, if this proves the im- 
possibility of nothing being formed into something, 
because it cannot be nothing and something at the 
same instant, then we shall be able to prove that a 
stick, one inch in diameter, cannot, by any number of 
blows with an axe, be cut in two at all. We will 
first suppose the diameter of the stick to be divided 
into two equal halves. It is evident the first half 
must be cut before the second ; and now the second 
half consists also of two equal parts, the first of 
which must be cut before the second, and so on, ad 
infinitum; the axe may cut and cut, to all eternity: 
and before the stick can be severed, there will be still 
a subdivision, the first half of which must be severed 
before the second can be ; so the stick never can be 
cut quite in two, until the last half of the remotest 
subdivision is cut at the same instant that the first is. 
This, we are told, is perfectly absurd, and therefore 
impossible. So, by this process, the cutting of the 
stick in two resembles those mathematical lines 
which approximate each other forever, without a pos- 
sibility of touching. So, since we cannot understand 
how nothing can be nothing and something at the 
same instant, we deny the ability of God to create 
something out of nothing. Yet we allow the pos- 
sibility of cutting an inch of wood in two; while we 
cannot comprehend how the last particle remains cut 
and uncut at the same instant, or how the last re- 
maining portion of it is cut at the same instant that 
the next preceding one is. 

(Note 16.) In this note it is stated that mind is 



92 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

that substance which has innate or living motion, &c. ; 
and in the fourth lecture it is stated that electricity 
" is that eternal, primal matter out of which all other 
substances were made." It follows that mind, being 
a substance, is electricity. It is also admitted that 
the Deify possesses a mind, and that his mind is 
infinite. Now, it is self-evident that there cannot be 
but one material mind in existence, for that one, being 
infinite, leaves no room for another. Then it follows 
that man has no electro-mentality, or God has none ; 
for the moment we admit one substance fills all space, 
that moment we deny the possibility of there being 
another substance in that space. It is an intuitive 
axiom, that two substances cannot occupy the same 
space at the same time. But it may be said, in this 
case, two substances do not occupy the same space : 
the mind of God is electricity, and the mind of man 
also, and they are both one substance. Well, then, 
the mind of God is not infinite ; it does not fill all 
space, but leaves room to be occupied by finite minds. 
This involves us in some kind of a dilemma, either 
simple or compound. If the mind of God is elec- 
tricity and infinite, and hence capable of moving 
dead matter, the mind of man must be immaterial 
and finite, and hence incapable of moving dead mat- 
ter ; but if the mind of man is immaterial, and yet 
capable of moving dead matter, the mind of God, 
being electricity, is incapable of doing it. So, be- 
tween the two levers, it is impossible for dead matter 
to be moved. Of this dilemma either horn may be 
taken. 

(Note 17.) In this note we have a brief history of 
the creation of all things out of electricity — "the 
inexhaustible fountain of primal matter." The sun 



OPPOSITION LINK. 93 

is pure electricity, emanating from the Deity, who 
also, himself, is the inexhaustible Source of that 

subtile agent. We must here notice some peculiar- 
ities in mesmeric logic. Electricity is said to be the 
only primal matter in existence, out of which every 
thing is made, and God himself is material — of 
course he is electricity. Well, next we are told that 
the sun is " pure electricity." Now, as there is but 
one primal substance, how can that substance, in any 
of its forms, be impure? There is no other ingredient 
in nature to be commingled with it to make it im- 
pure. But this is not all. The Deity himself is 
electricity, the fountain head of primal matter; and 
the sun is " pure electricity." Then the sun is a pure 
God, and those heathen who worship the sun are 
the most scientific and pure worshippers of God; and 
instead of our sending missionaries among them to 
enlighten them, they ought to send their missionaries 
here to enlighten us. 

Again: according to the electro-mesmeric econ- 
omy of nature, in the creation of all things out of 
electricity, the heaviest forms of it took the lowest 
point. First the more ponderous portions of our 
globe, and then those which are lighter ; and last and 
lightest of all, the sun was proudly enthroned upon 
the highest pinnacle of our system. This upsets the 
Newtonian philosophy. Astronomers have hitherto 
considered the sun as occupying the lowest point in 
the solar system, about which other bodies revolve. 
And instead of his being of less density than those 
which he enlightens, it is not true in every instance. 
It is found that a cubic foot of his substance weighs 
about 1150 ounces; a cubic foot of Mercury, about 
9166 ; of Venus, about 5733 ; of the earth, 4500 ; 



94 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

Mars and the moon, a little more than 3000 ; of Ju- 
piter, 1042. The weight of water being 1000, Ju- 
piter would but just sink in that liquid; while Saturn 
and Herschel, especially the last, would swim lightly 
on it, and Neptune would rise in such an atmosphere 
as ours like a balloon, and float on its surface as 
smoke and vapor. So, to maintain the position that 
the will of man is capable alone of moving dead 
matter, a total shipwreck is made of all former prin- 
ciples of philosophy, and the sublime science of 
astronomy is made to turn a grand somerset to 
complete the hallucination. 

(Note 18.) This admission oversets the " com- 
pound dilemma" found in Note 11. If God is dis- 
tinct from matter, man is not. Now, if the will of a 
Being who is distinct from matter can move dead 
matter, how does it prove that the will of a. being 
who is not distinct from matter can do it? 

(Note 19.) This is a great mistake. I have fre- 
quently witnessed as successful experiments in rainy 
evenings as at any other times when the weather 
was the most favorable to electrical experiments. 
Besides, the same author, in his fourth lecture, gives 
a circumstance, related to him by Dr. Patterson, of 
Lynchburg, Virginia, of a young lady who was taken 
sick, and was attended by a physician residing some 
eight or ten miles distant, who prescribed and left, 
promising to be there again the next evening. That 
evening was attended with a tremendous storm of 
rain and high winds. Yet the patient being catalep- 
tic, and in a state of clairvoyance, saw through rain 
and darkness her physician riding on horseback, and 
drenched with rain, even when he was miles from 
her, and watched his approach till he hitched his 



OPPOSITION LINK. 95 

horse and stepped to the door and rapped. In this 
, neither rain nor darkness intercepted the clair- 
voyant faculty, 

(Note 30.) The object of introducing tins note into 
this work is merely to show the amount of interest 
this tiling is capable of creating in the public mind. 
The lectures from which we make these quotations 
were delivered in Boston to a people who are known 
to be intelligent and highly respectable. It is not 
the low and ignorant that are the most liable to 
be deceived by this electro-illusion; it is well calcu- 
lated to deceive, if possible, the very elect. It is, 
therefore, the more formidable, and demands the great- 
er exertions to counteract its evil effects. 

It is spiritual wickedness (or wicked spirits) in high 
places which we have to contend against; and we 
ought to come out against it with a high hand. 

Before we close this part of the subject, we will 
briefly notice another popular method of explaining 
the phenomenon of clairvoyance. It is said that there 
is a light so much finer than atmospheric light, and of 
that peculiar property, that it can penetrate and pass 
through all substances in existence. This light pro- 
duces in the brain what is called cerebral lucidity, and 
is that by which clairvoyants are enabled to see things 
otherwise invisible. This finer light is called magnetic 
or galvanic light. Concerning it, we need to say but 
little more than that the proof of its existence is found 
only in the electro-mesmeric theory. Even if its 
existence could be demonstrated, we have already 
shown that it would not account, for the fact, that 
clairvoyants do sometimes see w\u\ describe things 
before they come to pass. This li^ht is also said to 
exist in the brain. But it is readily seen that a light 



96 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

in the brain will not enable one to see things out of 
it. Go into a room in a dark night, and light up from 
one to a hundred lamps; and the lighter the room is, 
the less visible things become seen through the window 
at a distance without. 

Before we close this account, we will compare the 
clairvoyant faculty of seeing with natural vision, and 
see if there is that analogy between them which is 
pretended by the advocates of the electro-mesmeric 
theory. We will first examine the philosophy of 
natural vision, and the properties of light which 
produce it. Roemer, an eminent Danish astronomer, 
in attempting to ascertain the exact time of the revo- 
lution of one of Jupiter's satellites, by observing its 
successive eclipses, discovered that light has a progres- 
sive motion, but at the inconceivable rate of two hun- 
dred thousand miles per second. This appeared evident 
from the following circumstances: — 

When the earth and Jupiter were both on one side 
of the sun at the same time, and the three bodies, the 
earth, the sun, and Jupiter, made a straight line, the 
eclipses of the satellite of Jupiter took place sixteen 
minutes sooner than when the earth was on one side 
of the sun, and Jupiter on the opposite ; in which case 
the earth was farther from Jupiter in the latter in- 
stance, by the diameter of her orbit, than she was in 
the former; and the light, in passing over this space, 
the diameter of the earth's orbit, occupied about six- 
teen minutes, or eight minutes in coming from the sun 
to the earth. 

Now, with regard to light itself, there are two theo- 
ries. One is called the corpuscular theory, and the other 
the undulatory theory. The corpuscular theory sup- 
poses particles of matter flying off from the luminous 



OPPOS] riON LINE. 






body to the eye, and, jnpipgiqg iij)on the m>v 
membrane, (the reiina,) ailed- it BO as to produce 
vision, by producing an inverted upage of the object 
0, The undulaiory theory suppo<c< there is an 
ely rare, subtile, and highly elastic medium, 
which pervades all space, and is put into undulations 
by the luminous body; and these undulations, pene- 
trating the eye, and falling on the retina, communicate 
to it similar undulations, the effect of which is to pro- 
duce vision. And further: it has been shown by Sir 
Isaac Xewton, by a refined problem in the analysis of 
light, that those beautiful colors seen in the rainbow 
are produced by different undulations of the elastic 
medium by which light is transmitted; that is, when 
this medium vibrates at a certain rate, a certain col- 
ored light is the result; and if at another certain rate, 
another colored light is the result ; and when this 
medium does not vibrate at all, or when one vibration 
is cancelled by another, the result is total darkness. 

From the following table, it may be seen what num- 
ber of vibrations in an inch, and in a second of time, 
are made in producing all the primary colors : — 





•~ c 


.~ 


w . 




'-z ■ - 


T. 


n tj 




o B •-* 


•_- d - 


^ Q pj 


c 


^.2fi 


c org 


O 5 o 


o 


+3 £ « 


Vj d 






\ - 


No 
dula 


c9 « 

- _ 




2 t, 


n 


P a. 




■ 


P 




Extreme lied 


6,000, 


37,040 


1.58. 000,000,000,000 


Red 


0,00". 


39,180 


477,000,000,000,000 
"00,000,000,000 


Orange 


0,00' 




Yellow 


6,000, 

0,000,211 


41,000 


".000 


Green , 


. '00,000,000,000 


Blue 


0,00". 
0,00m 


51,110 
64,070 


. -00,000,000,000 


Indigo 


..000 





.171 




>.000 


Kxtreme Violet 


0,00' 











98 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

Well might Isaiah exclaim, " O Lord, thou art my 
God ; I will exalt thy name ; for thou hast done won- 
derful things!" It is wonderful. When we look at 
the beautiful petals of a rose, this medium is vibrating 
in the eye at the inconceivable rate of four hundred 
and fifty-eight billions of times in a second, and the 
result is, to our senses, the petals are red ; whereas, if 
the vibrations had been five hundred and seventy-seven 
billions, we should have called them green. 

By inspecting the table, it will be seen that, to pro- 
duce the violet color, the vibrations are quickest; and 
to produce the red, they are the slowest. Now, when 
a beam of light is let into a darkened room, and suf- 
fered to pass through a prism, it forms an oblong 
figure on the opposite wall, called a spectrum, having 
in it all the colors in the above table, in their inversed 
order, — the red being at the bottom, and the violet at 
the top, — according to the different refrangibilities of 
the different colored rays. But there appears to be 
other rays that are invisible, or not colored at all ; 
these are called calorific, or heat-making rays, and they 
fall next below the red rays. What, then, must be 
the number of vibrations of this medium to produce 
heat? As they are invisible, their undulations cannot 
be determined by the same process that those of the 
colored rays are ; but an approximation to their num- 
ber may be found by a mathematical problem, and is 
in the neighborhood of four hundred and forty-seven 
billions. Now, this astonishingly subtile substance 
passes through nothing freely, so as to produce dis- 
tinct vision, except thin, transparent substances. But 
that medium through which clairvoyant vision is 
transmitted must be infinitely finer and more subtile 
than this, as much so as the waves of solar light are 



OPPOSITION LINK. 99 

less than the waves of the ocean. Now, what theory 
can stand, built on the supposition of the existence 
of such a medium, until its existence has some better 
demonstration than the clairvoyant faculty? Besides, 
if it is obedient to the laws of solar light, which it 
must be to produce vision, a clairvoyant could very 
seldom tell what color objects were of, or which way 
they are from the place of observation ; both of which 
they do. For it is a law in optics, that objects are 
always seen in the direction the rays of light have 
last on entering the eye. Now, the apparent direction 
of an object seen by the solar light does not so much 
depend on its real direction as it does on the number 
and densities of the media the visual rays have passed 
through, and their angle of incidence to those media, 
and also the reflections these rays have made before 
they reach the eye. But the clairvoyant faculty pays 
no respect to these immutable laws, but sees things in 
their true colors, and always straight ahead, no matter 
if the electro-mesmeric light has passed through hun- 
dreds of brick or stone walls, or through miles of the 
base of some adamantine mountain : the clairvoyant 
knows nothing of its refraction : though his light may 
have passed through these substances at all possible 
angles of incidence, and made all possible degrees of 
refraction, it is all the same to him. Besides, objects 
seen in ordinary vision partake more or less of the 
color of the medium through which they are seen. 
For instance : objects seen through green glass ap- 
pear green ; if seen through blue glass, they are blue. 
But it is not so in clairvoyance. It is evident, there- 
fore, that clairvoyant vision is not produced by any 
of the laws that govern natural vision ; and every 



100 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

attempt to make the former in any way analogous to 
the latter must, in the end, prove a failure. 

Even if we admit the existence of this electro- 
mesmeric light, it will not account for the fact that 
clairvoyants see and describe scenes before they are 
acted ; and it is but a poor horse that will carry a 
man safely only a part of his journey, and then leave 
him sticking fast in the mud, to get along the best 
way he can. It is altogether too late in the day to 
admit as proof the existence of things because we 
are enabled by them to explain a phenomena. Time 
was when it was supposed that this earth was in the 
common centre of several crystalline spheres which 
revolved about it, one of which it was supposed the 
moon was fastened to, and another the sun, and on 
others the several planets, and the fixed stars on 
another ; and by the revolution of these spheres was 
explained the apparent revolution of the heavenly 
bodies. But it did not demonstrate the existence of 
the spheres. 



OPPOSITION LINK. 101 



CHAPTER VIII. 

GENERAL REMARKS. 

It is said that mediums through which spiritual 
disclosures are made are not under the influence of 
mesmerism. This depends on what mesmerism is 
tsidered to be. We have shown it is a diseased or 
deranged play of the faculties of the mind, by what- 
ever means it may be brought about, whether by the 
application of steel plates to any part of the body, 
or by passing them over the body, or the fingers with- 
out the plates ; cr whether it be by disease of body. 
or by the action of medicine ; or by fear or excite- 
ment ; by the wonderful and the marvellous : by 
whatever means the effect is produced, it is the same 
when produced. In the case referred to in a former 
chapter, subjects were mesmerized standing against 
a door, and supposing Mesmer to be on the other side 
of it magnetizing them. This did the work just as 
well as though he had really been there. 

In some cases, a glove or kerchief is mesmerized 
and sent to a subject, who, on receiving it, goes into 
the mesmeric state ; but when these articles are 
changed, unknown to the subject, and one pre- 
sented which was not mesmerized, it has the same 
effect. So in the use of Perkins's tractors : when 
wooden ones were used, they had the same effect in 
alleviating pain when the afflicted thought they were 
the real, mysterious, and metallic ones. 

So in psychology : looking at a piece of silver and 
9* 



102 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

zinc has no more effect or galvanic action on the 
beholder than an old brass button, only as he believes. 
An operator in England psychologizes by directing 
his subject to look at the teeth of a comb. This 
answers every purpose, and so would any thing else 
which the parties might have faith in. There is, 
therefore, evidently no virtue in these means or modes 
of operation, only as they serve to call into action the 
faith of the parties. And u as a man thinketh, so 
is he." Any man can be mesmerized, psychologized, 
or bewitched by any of these means, if he only thinks 
so. But there are many who are ready to say they 
have been mesmerized or psychologized, and did not 
believe beforehand that they could be. This is only 
acknowledging they have changed their mind. Now, 
the question is, Did the effect produce a change of 
mind, or the change of mind produce the effect ? It 
is evidently the latter ; for no such effect can be pro- 
duced on a mind unprepared to receive it. No mat- 
ter how much unbelief a man may have in the first 
place; before he gets into the abnormal state, bis 
unbelief imperceptibly slides into doubting, his doubt- 
ing as imperceptibly into belief, and his belief as im- 
perceptibly slides him into the abnormal state, while 
he verily thinks his being in this state is the cause of 
his change of mind ; while the fact is, his change of 
mind is the cause of his being in this state. So a 
person who does not believe in ghosts never sees oiie 
till he sees something to shake his unbelief and set 
him to doubting ; and that very instant he is sure he 
sees a ghost. But if he knows it is physically and 
morally impossible for a ghost to be seen, he mat/, 
nevertheless, see one under a peculiar hallucination of 



103 

muni, which at all tithes he cannot control. (- 
>:< r X., Dear the dofi 

Besides, this kind of hallucination produced by 
;ement is sometimes, to some persons, irresistibly 
contagious. An instance which occurred to the au- 
thor we will relate : — 

Some five or six years ago, a half dozen or more 
young gentlemen and ladies returning home from a 
ool in the evening, very unceremoniously 
rushed into my room in great excitement, saying they 
had seen a new and very large star in the heavens, 
which was continually "jumping" about, first in one 
direction and then in another : and all at once, calling 
me out to see it. After reasoning with them a while 
to no purpose, and scolding them smartly for their 
folly, I thought it might possibly be something like 
an ignis fatitus. and went out to see it. But as soon 
as it was pointed out to me, I told them it was not a 
new star, but was known to Job, and was called 
Arcturus. (in the knee of Bootes ;) " and now, when 
you see it 'jump,' as you say, you may expect the 
universe to come to an end." These words had 
scarcely died on the air before it really leaped, as if 
in mockery of my incredulity, about thirty feet, In 
<pite of my senses. "There! there !" they all ex- 
claimed at once ; " did'nt you see it ? n " See it." said 
I, (not willing to own the fact ;) " the stars don't move, 
I tell you.*' Although it did appear to move, my 
judgment was not affected; but to convince them, I 
put a straight stick on a post, and ranged it to the 
portsman does the barrel of his gun to the 
target ; and after they had all seen the star by looking 
along the stick, at rest, it ceased its giddy leaps, and 
behaved as steadily as ever. This broke the hallu- 



104 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

cination, and put a stop to the boyish play of that 
old and respectable gem of heaven. 

Such is the peculiar nature of the mind : the laws 
that govern it are as yet but little understood. We 
should be aware of these deceptive appearances, and 
be governed by the sober dictates of reason. I knew 
it was impossible for that star to move, and my 
reason finally overpowered the evidence of my senses. 
So, if a man knows it is as utterly impossible for the 
dead to communicate with the living, to him " dead 
men tell no tales." His judgment will overpower 
the evidence of his senses. He can be no medium, 
neither can he hear the raps, unless he is so far off 
his guard as to catch the hallucination. 

But there are those who do hear them, yet know 
the dead do not make them ; nor can they tell how 
they are made, or whether they are made at all. Be- 
cause they are heard, it is no proof that they are 
made. The juggler breaks a sound egg, and takes 
out a live rabbit, or a full-grown dove ; but that does 
not prove that either of these creatures were in the 
egg. The evidence of our senses is not to be taken 
when contrary to the irrevocable laws of nature. If 
we have nothing to go by but the evidence of our 
senses, in what are we above the brutes ? As well 
might we say the sun travels round the earth every 
twenty-four hours, because it appears so to our senses ; 
and that is as much as the brutes can know about it. 

Appearances are often very deceitful. This is a 
well-known fact ; yet people are so easily deceived by 
them, that almost every man is striving to make a 
good appearance in the world, and to pass himself 
off for a little more than he is worth. 

This is emphatically an age of deception. But 



OPPOSITION LINK. 



106 



few articles can find a sale in market that arc not 
dressed up in some deceptive appearance ; and he ifc 
but a dull salesman who is not well skilled in the art 
of deception, and will meet with but few customers. 
We have a law to punish a man for counterfeiting 
money; but if he does not counterfeit every thing 
else, we set him down for a fool — a stupid block- 
head — far behind the times. The world knows these 
facts, and yet it loves the deception ; and the greater 
the deception, the more easily it is palmed off. 

No wonder, then, that the world should run into 
spiritual manifestations — the climax of deception. 
It is just the right age to introduce it. It is up even 
with the times, or a little ahead ; just enough to be 
sought after, like a new fashion just coming into use. 
But the devil is making capital out of it, and is pretty 
sure to turn it to his advantage. 

But after all, it is mesmerism ; that is, a perverted 
play of the mental faculties. This leads people to 
believe they converse with the spirits of the dead with 
the same facility as they formerly believed rods were 
turned into serpents, as done by the Egyptians, and 
is now done by mesmerizers, and has been done by 
the author. But if these things only appear to be 
done, and are not done, what proof have we of the 
visits of the spirits of the dead ? May not their ap- 
pearance be as great a deception ? Besides, they do 
not appear in person with visible forms, though it 
may be expected they yet will, the more completely to 
deceive ; for I apprehend the rage for witchcraft 
mania is nearly sufficient to produce such a result. 
But, says one, there is the mysterious intelligence 
manifested in these disclosures : how can it be ac- 
counted for ? Suppose it cannot be accounted for at 



106 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

all. Are we obliged to swallow a thing because we 
know not what it is ? We ought rather to spew it 
out of the mouth, because we do not know what it is. 
But the intelligence manifested in spiritual disclo- 
sures is not more mysterious than that manifested by 
clairvoyants, which was known years before any one 
pretended that the spirits of the dead had any thing 
to do in it. Both clairvoyants and mediums come 
into their respective states alike — sometimes by mes- 
meric passes, in which cases they are said to be in- 
duced, and sometimes the states are spontaneous. 

Now, what is the difference between a medium and 
a clairvoyant ? Both make mysterious disclosures ; 
one professes to make them from the dead, the other 
does not. It was first found that good subjects of 
mesmerism made clairvoyants ; now good clairvoy- 
ants make mediums. So, the real difference between 
a subject of mesmerism and a medium is the same as 
that between a pig and a hog. With proper care and 
feeding, the pig becomes a hog ; so the mesmeric 
subject, properly fed with the witchcraft mania, be- 
comes a medium. 

When the spirit rappings were first heard, in some 
respects they were nothing new. Frequently strange 
noises and sights have been heard and seen in houses 
said to be haunted, which, by the credulous, have 
always been supposed to be done by the spirits of the 
dead. It is, therefore, not strange these raps should 
be said to be made by spirits, — it is the usual way of 
accounting for these things, — and, as might be ex- 
pected, spirits that can rap must possess intelligence ; 
and on trial, it was found they did. This is mesmer- 
ism in the real sense of the word. What mesmerizer 
ever failed to prove his theory by his experiments ? 



OPPOSITION LINE. 107 

We have shown this to be a general thing through- 
out the whole. The mystery of the tiling has since 
kept up the excitement, and thousands of addled 
brains are experimenting with the spirits of the dead 
with complete success, as they fondly think. One 
class, the firm believers, strengthens the minds of me- 
diums, which enables them to be mediums; these, in 
turn, rivet conviction on the mind of believers. Now, 
believers stop publishing heir faith, and mediums 
would stop confirming it. 

It will readily be perceived that, whether spiritual 
manifestations stand or fall, must depend, in some 
degree, on whether they are. connected with mesmer- 
ism or not. That they are, we think we have suffi- 
ciently shown. There is no proof that either is any 
thing more than the effect of imagination. This has 
often been known to perform as great w T onders where 
neither mesmerism nor the spirits of the dead were 
-u>pected. And whether mesmerism stands or falls, 
must depend on whether it is a science or not; and 
if it is, electricity, or something allied to it, is called 

o action. This also, we have shown, is not a fact, 
and many scientific men are beginning to give it up. 
Dr. Haddock, speaking on this subject, says, — 

" It has been said that phreno-mesmerism is the 
result of electric action, and that, in fact, all mesmeric 
ion is but electrical phenomena — the operator 
being positively electrified, the patient negatively so. 
For this, I believe there is no evidence whatever. It 
is true, electricity may be made to stimulate certain 
vital actions: but it is admitted by the best physiol- 
hat there is no identity between them. I have 
carefully examined, and cannot find that there is any 
perceptible difference between the electrical and mag- 



108 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

netic state of the mesmerized subject and that of the 
operator, where, according to electrical theory, the 
greatest difference ought to be manifested." 

It has enriched no science, nor added one item to 
the sum of human wisdom. We have, in the two 
preceding chapters, followed the electrical theory 
through its labyrinthian routine, beginning with gross 
matter, and proceeding, step by step, till we arrived at 
the great eternal Mind of all, diligently looking 
" through nature up to nature's God." Yet, after all 
this toil, we have the mortification of finding our- 
selves as ignorant concerning the connecting link 
between mind and matter as when we set out. The 
amount of it all is, nothing cannot effect something, 
and something is effected ; therefore, there must be 
another something to do it. This is the will, which 
is an evolution of electricity, nervo-vital fluid, living 
galvanism, &c. So, before gross matter can be moved, 
there is a material will to be set in motion. This is 
moved by a material mind, which again is moved by 
electricity. But this does not discover the motive 
power. Here are four things moved, viz., mind, will, 
electricity, and matter, each of which is something, 
and cannot be a self-moving principle. So, to say 
that God moves and governs the universe through the 
agency of electricity, thus putting a lever into his 
hand to move matter, presupposes another behind 
him to move him. 

But further : it is evident that the electro-mesmeric 
sophistry, carried out, must annihilate every principle 
of divine revelation. According to it, will is an 
evolution of electricity, which is original, primal mat- 
ter, out of which all things are made, and of which 
God himself is the grand nucleus. Then there is no 



[TION LM 109 

other god but the God of nature In other words, 

God and matter are one and the same thing, primarily 
endowed with consciousness and power, r>o that it ean 
assome any form ; and in one grand centre this con- 
scious power chose to reside and staid forth its potent 
will, to mould itself into other forms, some of which 
are conscious and endowed with reason, some with 
animal instinct, and some with vegetable; others, un- 
organized, are unconscious in any degree. It follows 
that men are but so many satellitic nuclei emanating 
from and revolving about their primary, to which they 
are sure to return when dissolved in death : — 

" Like bubbles on the sea of matter borne, 
They rise, they break, and to that sea return." 

Hence we cannot fail to recognize a fair foundation 
laid for the most refined, but falsely scientific, system 
of atheism. For, if electricity is the only primal mat- 
ter, and some condition of it is will) emanating from a 
conscious mind, then there is no primal matter except 
mind itself. And whether we consider mind to be 
material or immaterial, it is just the same. Every 
object and every phenomenon would be the same, 
whether matter existed or not — every creation or 
formation would be an emanation of the one great 
Mind ; and there is not the least necessity of consid- 
ering man as a material being. If he imagines he i> 
made of flesh, blood, and bones, it is so to him, for 
his mi nd is all there is of him, and he must be just 
what that takes him to be; and if he imagines there 
IS an earth under his feet, and a beautiful starry 
heaven over his head, it is just the same to him, 
whether these things really and materially exist or 
not. In this way, every phenomenon in mesmerism 
10 



110 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

and spiritual manifestations might be accounted for. 
For instance : tables are said to move in obedience 
to the human will ; and the reason is, there is no 
table there — only the ghost of one, which exists in 
the minds of men ; and all that is necessary to move 
that ghost is, to make the requisite move in the mind, 
and the work is done. 

The effect of the mind is sometimes very wonder- 
ful. Physicians are aware that disease is sometimes 
occasioned by an unhappy state of it; and violent 
and sudden mental excitement has, in some cases, 
produced death. These circumstances might, to good 
advantage, be wove into the electro-mesmeric theory. 
Now, whatever the reader may think of all this, it is 
certainly no more nor less than graduating in the 
school of electro-mesmerism. Admit electricity to be 
the agent, and you admit the human will is capable of 
moving inert bodies ; and, finally, it must be admitted 
that mind is a feature of electricity, and, ultimately, 
that there is nothing but mind. And now, perhaps 
some of my readers may say, Why may not all these 
things be so? It seems to be the only rational way of 
accounting for the wonders of mesmerism. 

The first reason I would give is, it does not ex- 
plain the root of the matter ; that is, the mystery of 
thinking. The second is, it drives us to the con- 
clusion that the great first Cause is a deceiver, and 
has been playing a double game of deception with us 
from the beginning, in making objects appear to be 
material which are not so, and representing to us that 
we are accountable to our Maker, while we are but 
emanations from him, and reflections of his mind. 
The third is, it throws off that moral restraint which 
is necessary to our well being here, to say nothing of 



OPPOSITION LINE. Ill 

hereafter. And the fourth is, it overthrows and makes 
void the teachings of divine revelation, and would 
rend to fasten the "strong delusion" upon the world. 

Bur the electro theory involves us in another diffi- 
culty : that is. how io consider the brute creation. In 
' 16, Chapter VI., we have the electrical philos- 
ophy of mind, in which it is said that tliouglit, reason, 
trill, and understanding, are not mind, but the effects 
of mind; that is, the mind reasons, wills, thinks, &zc. 
\, whether brutes reason or not, they certainly 
think and understand, and exercise a will; and if 
they have but one attribute of mind, it proves they 
have a mind; and since "mind is that substance 
which has innate and living motion," it is the same in 
the brute as in man ; and if it is primal, uncreated 
matter, it must be as imperishable, that is, as exempt 
from de^tth, as the mind of man or of God ; therefore, 
they must be subjects of happiness and progressive 
attainments in the harmonial spheres, or the harmony 
of the spheres must be broken. 

So, we are bound to acknowledge the immortality 
of brutes, or deny the electrical philosophy of the 
mind. But if we deny the latter, the whole electro- 
mesmeric theory, with all its proud temples and air- 
bubble castles, must go by the board. 

M-smerism is, indeed, a strange delusion. Nothing 
can appear more harmless, at first, than lightly }» 
ing the fingers over a patient for the benevolent pur- 
pose of alleviating pain. It does not seem possible 
that any great amount of evil should grow out of 
such a simple process. None could suppose this i- 
paving the way to spiritual manifestations. But bo 
it is. "Behold, bow great a matter a little fire kin- 
diet h!*' Who could suppose that teaching a dbtfd 



112 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

names of a few characters, called an alphabet, is 
paving the way to that mighty difference between 
savage and enlightened nations ? Who could expect 
such astonishing results could grow out of the use of 
these simple characters ? 

But just so certain as effects follow causes, just so 
certain mesmerism leads to spiritual manifestations, 
and these to atheism, which is but the legitimate off- 
spring of mesmerism. The " man of sin " is conceived 
in it, and must be born ; for the time of travail has 
come; the last blow is about to be struck at divine 
revelation ; and the last struggle between Christ and 
Antichrist is about to ensue. The great day of his 
wrath is about to come ; and who will be able to stand? 

As a fair specimen of the evil tendency of " spiritual 
disclosures," we give the following, cut from " The 
Hartford Daily Courant," Tuesday morning, June 7, 
1853 : — 

■ ■ ANTI-BIBLE CONVENTION. 

" This infidel assemblage broke up on Sunday even- 
ing in a general row, without passing any of the reso- 
lutions which had been presented. Its object has been 
manifest from the beginning. It was concocted by 
infidelity as an attack upon the Bible, with no inten- 
tion of allowing fair and free discussion, or deliberate 
investigation. It was an assembly of abolitionists, 
women's rights believers, spiritual rappers, and athe- 
ists, gathered for the purpose of spitting out their 
venom against all that this community hold sacred — 
against the Bible, which is the foundation of our belief 
— against Christ, the Savior from sin — against God, 
the Creator of our being. Each fanatic took his own 
view of the subject, and assailed the Bible from his 



OPPOSITION UM,. 113 

own stand point. The infidel repeated the stale and 

worn-out puerilities of Voltaire and Tom Pairre, and 
called them arguments. The followers of that arrant 
deceiver, Andrew Jackson Davis, elevated the crude 

and undigested plagiarisms of his obscure philosophy 
above the teachings of Christ and his apostles, and 
held them as the gospel of the spiritualists. The ultra 
anti-slavery men, with Garrison at their head, denied 
the Bible for other reasons. With them, the abolition 
of slavery in this country is of more importance than 
the light of Christianity, or the salvation of souls 
through Jesus Christ. Rather than not accomplish 
their object, they would tear down the fabric that 
religion and morality have erected in New T England 
— they would abolish the hopes of an hereafter, blot 
out the light which Christ has shed over the world, 
and extinguish the joys and comforts which piety 
creates. The advocates of woman's rights would 
drive the Bible from its place in civilized society, be- 
cause it does not allow woman's equality with man 
in all things, but marks out for her a different sphere 
of action. 

" Throughout the discussion, the opponents of the 
Bible filled the ears of . the audience with the most 
revolting blasphemies, and made the convention a 
miniature hell, with demons spitting out the concen- 
trated malice of their hearts in terms of ' condensed 
damnation.' The most revolting scene was when a 
specimen of the ' fair sex' pronounced her tirades 
against the Deity and the Scriptures — said to be the 
most blasphemous stuff uttered in the convention. 
Nothing but Christianity has rescued woman from the 
degradation to which the tyranny of brute force had 
subjected her, in all savage nations — nothing but 
10* 



114 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

Christianity has bestowed upon her all that ennobles 
and purifies her character, and softens and dignifies 
her condition. Shame, then, to the woman who will 
so far unsex herself as to be engaged, amid an assem- 
bly of male infidels and scoffers, in attacking that in- 
stitution which has rescued her from bondage. 

" This woman, forsooth, spurns the Bible because it 
declares, at its commencement, that God created 
woman as the companion of man ! She refuses the 
Christianity of the New Testament because women 
were not allowed to speak in the churches! She 
boldly impugns the Almighty for the station in which 
he has placed her, and belches out her blasphemies 
against him for her physical inferiority, and for his 
declaration, in his holy word, that he had given woman 
to man as his < helpmeet ' — to support his infancy 

— to educate his young and tender mind — to build 
up the rising generations in the softening influences 
of early piety — to wean man, as a sister, from vice 

— to soothe him in that dearest of all relations, as a 
wife, amid the toils, and cares, and labors of the rough 
life through which he travels. Yes ; from the cradle 
to the grave, woman is the 'companion ? of man, the 
solace of his life hours, the supporter of his dying 
moments. God so ordered — the Bible so proclaims 

— Nature so ordains — and shame to that woman 
who loudly asserts in a public assembly that such a 
God is unfit for her worship, and is not hers. Shame 
to the piebald assemblage of atheists, and abolitionists, 
and misguided fanatics that would encourage the 
declaration. 

" Though we disliked the idea of any interference 
with the progress of their blasphemy, yet we must do 
justice to the two Second Advent preachers, Messrs. 



OPPOSITION LINE. tlfl 

Storrs, of New York, and Turner, of this place, who 
manfully battled for the truth and authority of the 
Bible. Their arguments were unanswered and un- 
answerable. 

" Honest, well-meaning men, men who have hither- 
to been deluded by this spirit-rapping mania, with all 
its absurdity and folly, can now see whither it tends. 
It leads to the destruction of Christianity, to the rejec- 
tion of the Bible, to the blotting out of God from the 
soul. Are they ready to go to these lengths ? Just 
as assuredly as they embrace ' the gospel according 
to Andrew Jackson Davis' will they be led to the 
rejection of Jesus Christ and him crucified, and to the 
abolition of God from their creeds. Are they prepared 
for it ? 

" As long as this spiritual rapping was the mere 
child of fatuity and imposture, we chose to let it 
alone. But it has now assumed a position in which 
the lover of all that is holy, and upright, and just in the 
universe must meet it with tones of indignation and 
notes of warning. We have no hesitation in saying, 
as viewed in the light of this convention, that a belief 
in spiritual visitations, as at present exhibited, will 
lead directly and fatally to the grossest infidelity and 
atheism. 

" The chairman announced, at the adjournment of 
the meeting, that it would be called together again at 
some other city of New England. We trust that the 
soil of Connecticut will never be desecrated again, 
and her laws set at defiance, by such an assemblage, 
or the air of Connecticut polluted again by such 
blasphemy." 

It is proper here to state the fact, that this chapter 
was written several weeks before this convention was 



116 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

called. The article from the Courant was just in time 
to show what effect spiritual manifestations have 
already had, and what may be expected of them in 
future. 

But if psychology and spiritual manifestations are 
the effects of an aberration of mind, it may be asked 
what the devil has to do with it. Almost every 
thing ; for it is, perhaps, his whole field of action. He 
is the prince of jugglers, but not a creator: he cannot 
make a field to work in, but works in one already 
made, and opened by our proneness to evil. It is his 
business to deceive, and ours to be aware of his de- 
ception. If man acts according to the impulse of his 
mind, then his mind must be first acted upon to do 
evil or to do good; and to do evil, there must be an 
evil influence to actuate it. And if we yield to this 
influence, we yield ourselves instruments of evil through 
an evil operation of the mind. It behooves us, there- 
fore, to know by what principle the mind is actuated. 
For this purpose our reason was given, which, with 
"the law and the testimony," will direct us aright in 
all things. 

But if we follow the impulse of the carnal mind 
alone, Reason herself soon becomes perverted, and 
mental intoxication is the consequence. Look at the 
inebriate ; hear his logic, his plea for a dram. His 
reasoning appears perfectly philosophical to him; and 
he wonders why the " Sons of Temperance " cannot 
see the weight of his argument in the same clear light 
that he does. Now, why is this ? He is in error ; and 
error, persisted in, is monomania. No matter on what 
subject a man errs ; the nature of error is the same — 
to pervert the understanding and poison the judg- 
ment. But in all mental intoxication, there is none 



OPPOSITION LINE. 117 

greater than ill the advocates of false religion. And 
why? Because the devi] hates nothing so much as 
religion. Hence his principal object -''cms to be 
to turn every thing of a truly religious nature into a 
wrong channel; and what he cannot entirely over- 
throw, as a whole, split up and divide. 

But, since error perverts the reasoning faculties, it 
may be asked how those in error are to be reclaimed, 
since their reason cannot be appealed to. We find it, 
indeed, often very difficult to reclaim them; but this 
does not justify them in error, more than the inebriate 
is justified in the use of his intoxicating cup. He 
errs, and his error is ruining him ; but the difficulty is 
to make him see it, and inspire him with zeal enough 
to cause him to abandon his evil course. 

We are truly living in " the perilous times " spoken 
of by Paul to Timothy, in which men are "ever learn- 
ing, and never able to come to the knowledge of the 
truth." 

But, because of the late improvements in literature 
and the arts, it is argued that the intellect of man is 
rapidly advancing; consequently, he is better able to 
judge of the things of religion than in any former age. 
And, to keep pace with the rapid march of intellect, 
the religion of A. J. Davis is preferred to that of Jesus 
of Nazareth, as more in harmony with the present 
state of progression. Those who reason thus may 
think they are using the most profound philosophy. 
And to prove that this is not insanity on this subject, 
we are referred to the sanity of mind exhibited in 
mechanical arts, inventions, and improvements of the 
day. But such seem to forget that the wiser a man 
he greater he may err. It is true that great minds 
are capable of grasping great truths ; but it is equally 



118 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

true, that they are also capable of embracing great 
error. The scholar of the most brilliant intellect who 
does happen to err, errs as much more egregiously 
than a dunce as his intellect is greater. So, if men 
are wiser now than formerly, it proves that they are 
capable of erring more than formerly. For human 
wisdom alone is not sufficient to shield a man from 
the hallucinating influence of religious error, else all 
great and wise men would be Christians. But the 
heathen philosophers, with all their wisdom, worshipped 
almost every thing but the true and living God. In 
no age has the wisdom of man kept him from religious 
error. Neither is it a fact, that the most ignorant 
have erred the most in this respect. Why, then, should 
the wisdom of this age keep it from the same error? 

It should be borne in mind, that, with all the dis- 
coveries man has ever made, and in all he has ever 
learned, he has not yet arrived at one principle of 
nature that did not exist from the beginning. Then, 
by parity of reasoning, and in perfect harmony with 
the present rapid march of intellect, there is no new 
principle of religion that did not exist from the begin- 
ning in the eternal purpose of God. And it follows 
that the religion said to be revealed by the spirits of 
the dead is false, or that revealed by Jesus Christ is ; 
for one contains principles diametrically opposed to 
the other; and both could not exist from the begin- 
ning. And if a man believes the latter is false, he 
gives evidence to the world that he labors under a 
religious monomania, though his mind may be gigan- 
tic, and sane enough in other respects to determine 
the elements of the orbits of the distant comets, and 
calculate their return; convert water into fuel; navi- 
gate the atmosphere ; and invent the long-sought 
" perpetual votion." 



OPPOSITION mm:. 119 

We here introduce an extract from the lectures of 

Mr. William EL Blakeney, refuting the position some 
are taking, thai these things are not of the devil, be- 
cause there is good in them: — 

"We have already admitted the power of mesmer- 
ism to the treatment of diseases. Hence, say they, it 
does good ; and as Satan has not the disposition to 
effect the 'good' of mankind, this power is not from 
him. 

" And further, they argue that his * satanic majes- 
ty ' was never known to do good. Now, I wish to 
call your attention to a few thoughts on the term good, 
as connected with this prominent and only argument. 

"First: God is the Author of all good, for in him 
' we live, move, and have our being.' Hence, to the 
successful attainment of any philanthropic object, the 
Christian relies on the interposition of a divine Provi- 
dence, and the special cooperation of his aid. A 
man's general conduct may be such as to call for the 
severe chastisement of the law, and the reproach of all 
his fellow-citizens, and, at the same time, there may 
be periods in the history of his life when he was 
known to benefit others ; for he did them good. 
Hence a person, under the garb of religion, may 
assume a dignified character; he may manifest an 
ardent zeal for the best interest of his fellow-man, and, 
at the same time, have a malevolent desire at heart. 
You may trace the outlines or general character of 
Satan's history, from the time he tempted our first 
parents up to the time he placed Christ on the pinna- 
cle of the temple, and you will find that, under all of 
his peculiar administrations, under all the peculiar 
features he has assumed, — every temptation, every 
suggestion, every action, — he aims to promote the 



120 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

apparent good of his victim. < Partake of this fruit in 
counterdistinction to the command of the Eternal, 
and thou shalt become as gods, knowing good from 
evil. Eat of this tree of the garden, and your eyes 
shall be opened,' was his infatuating address to our 
first parents. 

" Again : there are certain advantages, certain po- 
sitions, which, if gained, facilitate his operations much. 

" Now, it is well known that the success of a battle 
not only depends on the skill of the general and the 
subordinate officers, but also upon the position the 
army occupies. And hence his ' majesty,' for the more 
successful triumph of his ' arms,' selects not only well- 
disciplined officers, but also as favorable a position as 
possible. But not only are good officers and a good 
position necessary for the successful attack of an 
enemy or a foe, but a great deal depends on having 
the minds of the privates impressed with the justice 
of their cause. Hence, as an incentive to persever- 
ance, the commanding general, while addressing his 
soldiers, presents to their minds the sacred character 
of the cause they have so nobly pledged themselves to 
sustain, by referring to the everlasting interests at 
stake. Their firesides, their altars, their children, the 
institutions of their beloved country, and every thing 
they hold most sacred and dear. Now, this is precise- 
ly the plan adopted by the enemy of man for the 
attainment of his object. First, his strong position 
is in the Church. Here he wields a powerful and 
decided influence. First, by introducing error into 
her creeds, and giving it the appearance of something 
useful and worthy of respect. 

M It is here that he transforms himself into an ' angel 
of light,' converts the ministers over to his principles, 



OPPOSITION LIVE. 121 

and through them appeals to the members for a per? 
petuatioo of those principles. 

"For a remarkable proof of this position, I cannot 
forbear relating some of the extraordinary develop- 
ments oi' mesmerism in the great ' Kentucky revival' 
of 1802. 

" Having already noticed the difference between the 
phenomena of 'animal excitement' and that resulting 
from a religious one, — with the indubitable test by 
which you may detect the one from the other, — we 
shall introduce the subject of the ' revival ' without 
any introductory remarks. 

" We would observe, however, that, previous to its 
introduction, the different churches throughout the 
state simultaneously complained of the ' great spirit- 
ual dearth ' which seemed to prevail. Deism had 
already reared its deformed head, and began to spread 
like wildfire in the different towns and villages, until 
a crisis had evidently arrived. An effort to introduce 
a higher state of religious feeling was put forth in the 
county of Madison, (upper part of Kentucky,) in the 
spring of 1801, by a few ministers of the gospel. 
Meetings were soon well attended, and signs of a high 
state of religious feeling were evidently developed. 

" The altar was soon crowded with * anxious souls,' 
who, after loudly bewailing their sins, would swoon 
away, and lay apparently lifeless for a long time, when 
suddenly a burst of ecstasy would issue from their 
lips, followed by long and powerful appeals to the 
congregation in behalf of the religion of Christ. The 
excitement increased, which drew multitudes out to 
witness its wonders. And, strange as it may appear, 
children who could hardly speak audibly, when in- 
fluenced by this infection, and after a state of apparent 
11 



122 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

lifelessness for some time, would revive, and, with an 
eloquence which would defy competition, warn the 
multitude to escape the wrath to come. 

" The meetings frequently continued during the 
whole night, when scenes of consternation and horror, 
which would beggar description, followed. Some 
trembled, like one in a fit of the ague. Others, with- 
out respect to time or order, were praying loudly for 
their relatives, while hundreds lay prostrate on the 
floor. The influences, like electricity, spread, when it 
was found necessary to encamp on the ground, and to 
continue the meetings day and night. To this en- 
campment the people flocked in hundreds and thou- 
sands. There were also meetings held in Caneridge, 
Bourbon county, where it was estimated that twenty 
thousand people, from different quarters, collected on 
the ground at once. Here, also, the exercises were 
indescribable. 

" Rev. James Crawford, one of the oldest ministers 
of the state, after keeping as accurate account as 
possible, computed the number who fell on the occa- 
sion at about three thousand. Men came breathing 
severe threatenings against the work, and were fre- 
quently struck down while uttering horrid oaths. 
Others, to escape the infection, mounted their horses, 
and, with quick pace, rode off; but before advancing 
far would be precipitated to the ground, and thus lay 
as dead men until revived. Some writers, in de- 
scribing the scene, have remarked that they would 
fall like men shot on the field of battle. 

" But the work was not confined to the State of 
Kentucky. It broke out in Ohio and North Carolina, 
where the influences resembled those experienced in 
Kentucky. 



POSITION i.im:. 123 

" Without consuming time and space with a farther 
tcription of the phenomena, as witnessed in tfa 
plat shall proceed to notice some of the m 

inguishing traits which characterized the leaders 
of this • new theology.' 

" First : They pr a new and distinct rev- 

ion — 'a new light/ 'All distinguishing names 
were laid aside ; and persons, without respect to age, 
. or color, were allowed to officiate as the light in 
them might suggest. They also professed the power 
V casting out of evil spirits, and of per- 
forming other astonishing miracles, such as were 
performed in the days of Christ and the apostles. 
They also professed perfection, and supposed them- 
o be ' entirely free from sin, dead to the world, 
and risen with Christ.' 

. the peculiar circumstances under which this 
revival commenced, its unexplained progress, together 
xtraordinary influences attending it, fixes 
our conclusion irresistibly, viz., that it was not of 
God. Look at the influence exerted on children. The 
great strength imparted to them, both physically and 
mentally, as in the clairvoyants of mesmerism; also, 
at the controlling power as exerted on the great num- 
bers who were struck down while engaged in the act 
of blasphemy — their limbs being paralyzed, as in 
mesmerism, while the general appearance of the body 
bore all the marks as witnessed in the 'phenomena 
of mesmerism ' now. 

" Another evidence that the influence was mesmer- 
ism, is the remarkable manner in which their leading 

o 

men would be handled while in meetings, and some- 
times along the street — twitching and jerking, roll- 
ing and barking, in imitation of the dog. juo- 



124 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

tation in ' Thoughts on Mesmerism,' No. 3, from La 
Roy Sunderland's work on { Pathetism.') 

" Now, as history, philosophy, and revelation teach 
of but two predominating powers, — the one from 
heaven, and the other satanic, — we are bound to as- 
cribe these influences to the one or the other. That 
they were not of God, is evident from the indubitable 
text, as given in the Scriptures : 4 A tree is known by 
its fruits ; ' and that they were mesmeric, is also 
evident from the perfect parallel of the phenomena, 
as in mesmerism, and also from the excitement which 
follows the exhibition of said phenomena. It is well 
known that whole cities, towns, and villages have 
been thrown into one grand scene of confusion, and 
almost paroxysm, from the exhibitions of this myste- 
rious power. Some, doubting their senses, would 
denounce the experiments as human ' impositions,' 
or c humbuggery.' Others, attributing the power to a 
'diabolical source,' would denounce its agents and 
lecturers as being 'leagued with the devil;' while 
another class supposed it to be the result of a c science 
but partially understood.' Its first introduction into 
the United States was marked particularly with these 
conjectures; and in whatever place the phenomena 
were successfully exhibited, multitudes have turned 
out to witness them. Men have frequently been 
known to neglect their business, and become bank- 
rupts, by the infatuation ; while females have dis- 
missed their domestic duties, to take a peep into the 
mysteries of this mysterious power. Indeed, the ex- 
citement has carried with it whole villages, so that, in 
the language of inspired testimony, they have ac- 
knowledged, from the least to the greatest, that this 
is the great power of God. 



OPPOSITION LIN& 188 

|C H the deception and the character aoder 

which it was imposed Now, eua id the Kentucky 
revival, Satan imitated the inflaencefl of the Chris- 
tian religion, to more successfully deceive mankind, 
so, in the phenomena of mesmerism, its resem- 
blance of the ' great power of God,' developed 
through its assumed ability and disposition to do 
good. 

" In the Acts of the Apostles, chapter eight, we 
have another demonstration of this power, as exhib- 
ited by * Simon,' the ' sorcerer,' who gave himself out 
to ' be some great one ; ' and it (the phenomenon as in 
mesmerism) is the great power of God." 

In this account it is not difficult to recognize mes- 
meric phenomena. The reader will recollect what 
has been said in this work (pp. 58, 59) concerning 
the difference of the phenomena exhibited by the sub- 
jects of different mesmerizers ; and the reason as- 
signed was, they expected different results, each op- 
erator thinking beforehand his subjects would be like 
those he had seen or heard of. In the above quota- 
tion, the writer says, " But the work was not con- 
fined to the State of Kentucky. It broke out in Ohio 
and North Carolina, where the influences resembled 
those experienced in Kentucky." Undoubtedly, those 
who got up the revival in Ohio and Carolina had 
been to the Kentucky revival, from which they took a 
pattern of the work. But before it commenced in 
these places, the people must have heard of the in- 
fluence attending the Kentucky meeting, which would 
also account for the similarity. But one thing is 
generally true, with some exceptions — converts made 
at such revivals need converting again, often in a 
short time. 

11* 



126 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

If the Holy Spirit, by its operation on the mind, is 
productive of true religion, there must be an opposite 
spirit operating on it to produce a counterfeit. Such 
a spirit does exist, and has power to deceive, but 
none to compel, those who resist it. It is singular 
that such a spirit should be denied physical power by 
those who grant that the spirits of the dead possess 
it. They say the devil cannot tip tables; but the 
spirits of the dead can and do. The pith of their 
argument seems to be this: A living devil cannot, by 
unseen hands, move a table ; but a dead one can. 
Now, if tables really move in these experiments, it 
proves the devil exerts a physical power ; if they do 
not, it proves, like other mesmeric wonders, a hallu- 
cination of mind. Notwithstanding the thousands 
of witnesses who are ready to testify to their loco- 
motion, it yet remains to be proved that their motion 
is real, and not apparent. 

The attention hitherto called to this subject has 
been chiefly directed to detect some jugglery in the 
affair. Hereafter it will probably come to light that 
they do not move only in the imagination of the 
beholders, as it is admitted that all present must be in 
harmony; that is to say, be drawn into the hallu- 
cination ; and in this case, they might appear to 
move, whether they do or not. The thing needs 
further testing, particularly on this point. (See chap- 
ter X., " table tipping.") 

But, says one, it is not possible that so many 
thousands of intelligent people are so grossly deceived. 
But we ask, Which is the more probable — that the 
whole world should be deceived, or that nature should 
err or deviate from her wonted course ? For she 
either does so deviate, or these things are imaginary. 



OPPOSITION LINK. 127 

Again : it may be said no one has a right to say 
these things are contrary to the laws of nature 1ill he 
gives evidence that he is acquainted with all her 
laws. Then our opponents have no right to say they 
ttre done by a law of nature until they show by what 
law it is. This they have not done, but failed in 
every attempt. To say it is electricity, amounts to 
nothing, until it is proved to be so. In the table-tip- 
ping experiment, we acknowledge a law of nature, 
acting on the mind, but not on the table ; for we have 
shown that similar wonders have been witnessed by a 
law of aberration of mind : now, let our opponents 
show a similar law of aberration of matter. 

Again : we prove our position by numerous prece- 
dents drawn from nature at work in her own unin- 
duced way. This our opponents have not done. 
Strange things are done, either apparently or really. 
They say they are really done by the spirits of the 
dead ; as well might they say it is by the heathen 
gods. We deny the fact ; and, until it is proved, shall 
hold it self-evident, that the only ghosts which have 
ever been raised by modern mediums are the ghosts 
of ancient witchcraft and sorcery. 

Between mind and matter there is no connecting 
link beyond that of the living, organized, animal 
body. And what that link is, we may know when 
we know what life is, and not before. How the 
mind of Deity acts on matter, is another thing. We 
do not profess wisdom enough to scan the Almighty. 
But we demand proof that there is any connection 
between the mind of man and inanimate matter, or 
that there is one between the living and the dead, 
either between their bodies or minds. There cannot 
be one, unless there arc two Gods ; for the great 



128 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

Teacher has declared that the one God is not the 
God of the dead, but of the living. This completely 
dissolves the link between the living and the dead, 
until the resurrection, as shown to Moses at the bush, 
when the dead will live again, and God will be their 
God. 

But if the spirits of the dead manifest themselves 
to the living, God is their God, and they are not 
dead ; which is the climax of absurdity. If we say 
God is the God of the spirits of dead bodies, then 
there is no class of men, dead or alive, which he is 
not the God of; for he mast be the God of the spirits 
of living- men, to be the God of the living ; else liv- 
ing men have not living spirits. But there is a class 
of men he is not the God of ; and ivho are they ? If 
we say they are the bodies of dead men, we virtually 
say he is not the God of dead matter, and could not 
have made man of the dust; and the material uni- 
verse is without a God to govern it. 

But as God is not the God of the dead, but of the 
living, there must be one class which cannot manifest 
itself to the living; and this must be the dead, or 
there is no class that are dead. Then, of all decep- 
tions and mental hallucinations ever played off upon 
man by mesmerism, death is the greatest. 

Man is truly a strange creature. He believes that 
spirits of the dead rap on tables, because it appears 
so to his senses; but senses or no senses, he does not 
believe that dead men are dead and cannot rap. 
This is straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel. 
Why is not the evidence of the senses proof in one 
case as well as in the other ? 



OPPOSITION link. 129 



CHAP T E Jl IX. 

THE PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORY OE MESMEBISM CON- 
SIDERED. — AN IMPROVED MODE OE GOING TO 
HEAVEN. 

Tins theory, in its principal features, does not differ 
materially from the electro-magnetic theory already 
considered. It is, apparently, less clear and philo- 
sophical, and is, therefore, less liable to be generally 
received and to do injury. It will only be necessary, 
therefore, to give it a passing notice, as it is not my 
object to refute a theory merely for the sake of refu- 
tation. 

I shall speak of it as I find it taught by Dr. Had- 
dock, an English writer, in his " Psychology, or the 
Science of the Soul." On page 10 he says, " Met- 
aphysicians have studied mind, irrespective of form 
or matter; and some philosophers would resolve all 
things into material operation, irrespective of mind. 
I believe that fact and demonstrative evidence will 
prove both classes of philosophers to be wrong. From 
divine revelation we know that there is both spirit, 
or mind and matter — both a spiritual body and a 
natural body. These cardinal truths will be found to 
lie at the bottom of all mesmeric experience ; and 
from that experience, the a priori statements of the 
iptures will be abundantly confirmed." 

According to this theory, then, mesmerism rests on 
the two great pillars — mind and matter; a spiritual 
body and a natural body. Now, if we can find out 
what a spiritual body is, and what a natural body is, 



130 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

we shall find out what lies at the bottom of mes- 
merism. 

Again : on pp. 45 and 6 he says, " I have reason 
to believe, as I shall point out in the sequel, that 
mind is the grand agent in all really mesmeric phe- 
nomena, and the manipulations are merely so many 
means of fixing mental action." The lever in this 
theory, therefore, is the mind, the same as in the 
electro theory. Again : on pp. 63 and 4, we find the 
following : " It is usual to represent man as composed 
of mind and matter — soul and body. This is cor- 
rect. And as we find the body is not a simple, un- 
compounded substance, but a collection of innumer- 
able parts and organs, so, by parity of reasoning, 
we may conclude that the mind or spiritual, as the 
parent and director of the natural body, cannot be 
that simple entity, that abstract nothingness, so gen- 
erally represented by metaphysical writers ; but rather 
that the controller of the animal organism must be 
itself organized according to the laws of its own 
peculiar nature, and capable of manifesting those 
laws, under certain circumstances, through those or- 
gans of the body ; that is, of the brain and nervous 
system, which are united with it by the laws of cor- 
respondent activity and connection. St. Paul, there- 
fore, spoke the language of the profoundest philos- 
ophy, when he declared that there were spiritual 
bodies and natural bodies, and that the natural body 
was the first in its development, and afterwards the 
spiritual body ; and when, on another occasion, he 
defended the entire human organism, as existing here, 
to be a compound of 'spirit, soul, and body' — in 
this respect, giving his apostolic sanction to the doc- 
trine of the ancient sages of Greece." 



\r. 131 

i doubt in ray mind whether Paul 
spoke the profoundesl philosophy of mesmerism, or 
Bome philosophy of a much higbei . It is cer- 

tain that he did not speak the philosophy of the 
ancient If he did, he did n< 

the philosophy of his heavenly Master; for lie spake 
on this subject " as never man spake." This could 
not have been said of him had he spoken the doc- 
trine of the ancient sages of Greece. Our author, 
therefore, must misunderstand Paul's language. We 
will examine it more closely, and see if Paul taught 
the organization of an inner man, denominated the 
spiritual body. Paul, in using this language, does 
not appear to be giving his apostolic sanction to the 
doctrine of heathen sages ; but, so far from it, he was 
declaring a doctrine which the heathen knew nothing 
of — the resurrection of the body. See 1 Cor. xv., 
beginning at verse forty-two : " So also in the resur- 
rection of the dead. It is sown in corruption, it is 
raised in incorruption ; it is sown in dishonor, it is 
raised in glory ; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in 
power ; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spir- 
itual body. There is a natural body, and there is a 
spiritual body." The reader will notice that, in each 
of the above cases, the same it was raised that was 
sown. i; It was sown in corruption, it (the same it) 
was raised in incorruption," 6cc. Again : " It was 
sown a natural body, it (the same it) was raised a 
spiritual body." There is certainly no evidence here 
of two organized bodies ; but it may be argued that 
the evidence lies in the affirmation, ,; There is a nat- 
ural body, and there is a spiritual body." But Paul 
has just said this natural body is sown a natural body, 
but is raised a spiritual body. It is certainly one and 



132 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

the same body undergoing a change in being sown 
and raised. The first change alluded to by the apostle 
is from corruption to incorruption : " It is sown in 
corruption, it is raised in incorruption." The next 
change is from dishonor to honor, and, lastly, from 
natural to spiritual. It still may be asked, What did 
Paul mean by these terms — natural and spiritual ? 
Let him speak for himself: " Howbeit, that was not 
first which is spiritual, but that which is natural, and 
afterwards that which is spiritual." The only con- 
clusion is, the body, at first, is a natural body ; but 
being born again at the resurrection of eternal life 
and glory, it becomes a spiritual body. For the 
apostle adds, " The first man is of the earth, earthy ; 
the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the 
earthy, such are they also that are* earthy; and as is 
the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. 
And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we 
shall also bear the image of the heavenly." 

Now, the natural body (the natural man) first bears 
the image of the first man earthy, (in other words, 
wicked ;) but when he bears the image of the second 
man, " the Lord from heaven," he will be heavenly ; 
that is, holy. And this image the righteous will bear 
in the resurrected state. They will not then be nat- 
ural bodies, that is, wicked, but holy, or spiritual. So 
Paul's language does not imply two bodies to one 
individual, unless it can be proved that the true 
Christian has not the same body that he had before 
he became a Christian and while a sinner. 

But many people make a very singular and unwar- 
ranted use of the word spiritual, as though it had 
some mystical meaning. But it is not so. The word 
is an adjective ; and, like others of that class, is used 



OPPOSITION LINK. 133 

to denote some property or quality of the thing it is 

joined to. Paul uses the word in the above texts in 
the same sense that he does the word heavenly and 
the word natural, in the same sense he does the word 
earthy, and both in the same sense he do es first man 
and second man. He also uses the term flesh and 
blood in the same sense as he does earthy, which is 
nearly that of carnal nature, in the common accep- 
tation o( the phrase. 

11 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood 
cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth 
corruption inherit incorruption." Here flesh and bio nl 
evidently means carnal nature ; otherwise the learned 
apostle was guilty of gross tautology ; for flesh and 
blood, in the literal use of the words abstractedly, is, 
verily, corruption itself. But when he says corrup- 
tion doth not inherit incorruption, he must mean 
something different from flesh and blood ; for he just 
told us that cannot inherit the kingdom of God. 
" Behold, I show you a mystery ; we shall not all 
sleep, but we shall all be changed." How shall we 
be changed ? " For this corruptible must put on in- 
corruption, and this mortal must put on immortality." 
That is as he said before : " It is sown in corrup- 
tion, it is raised in incorruption." He further says, 
" This mortal must put on immortality." Now, flesh 
and blood, in the literal sense of the separate words, 
are both mortal and corruptible — the very thing Paul 
says must be changed, but still be flesh and blood in 
the literal sense, but with imperishable qualities. 

That this is the use of the term flesh and blood, is 

equally certain in Matt. xvi. 17. Here Christ tells 

Peter that flesh and blood had not revealed to him 

that he was the Christ, the son of the living God, 

12 



134 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

" but my Father which is in heaven ; " that is, Peter's 
carnal nature did not reveal this, but the Spirit of the 
Father did. 

So it is evident that Paul's language touching the 
resurrection of the dead cannot consistently be so 
construed as to imply two organized bodies to one 
living individual. Where, then, are those "cardinal 
truths " that are found to lie at the bottom of scien- 
tific mesmerism ? They cannot be found in the 
language of Paul, the only place we have been di- 
rected to look for them. And if they are not there, 
psychology is left without a prop. But I pass to 
another quotation. 

" When death severs the connection between mind 
and body, the ultimate of the immortal man is the 
psyche or animus, and to it is transferred all conscious 
perceptions and sensations. It is from this dispersing 
seat of conscious perceptions that, in our ordinary 
state, we have no sensational knowledge of the spirit 
world or of its laws. But psycheism, or the higher 
state of mesmerism, may aptly be compared to par- 
tial death ; for it is a closing of the common external 
of our being, a transfer of the sensational perceptions 
from the ultimate of the body to the ultimate of the 
spirit; and hence, and simply from this transfer of 
ultimates, arises an awakening of the conscious sen- 
sational perception of the inner man or spirit. All 
these apparently miraculous powers, which we some- 
times see displayed by good mesmeric subjects, are, 
in fact, but the result of the psyche or animus being 
so far set free from the bodily ultimate as to enable 
the spiritual body to act nearly, if not quite, independ- 
ently of the sensual organs, and by perception, and 
in the light from an inner world. But the connection 



OPPOSITION LINE. 135 

of mind and body is yet sufficient to enable th- 
sight and r< to be manifested to our physical 

by and through the natural organization of a 
clairvoyant." 

The author from whom we make the above quota- 
tion cannot, after all, think that Paul's philosophy 
was very profound. Paul's philosophy is — " This 
mortal must put on immortality ; this corruption must 
put on incorruption ;" and "then shall be brought to 
pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed 
up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O 
grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is 
sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks 
be to God, which giveth us the victory through our 
Lord Jesus Christ." 

But, according to the philosophy of psychology, 
"when death severs the connection between mind and 
body, the ultimate of the immortal man is the psyche," 
&c. U this is the last of him, he certainly cannot 
have a resurrection ; and the saying that is written, 
" Death is swallowed up in victory," will never come 
to pass. Again : according to Paul's philosophy, 
" the sting of death is sin ; " but, according to the 
philosophy of psycheism, the sting of death is a dis- 
solution of the connecting link between mind and 
body, and a " transfer of all the conscious perceptions 
and sensations " to the former. This, finally, is no 
death at all ; it is only a transfer of the living func- 
tions of the duplicate man to the unit, or inner man, 
and this is the last of him ; that is, the last change 
he undergoes. But Paul say.-, M We -hall all be 
changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at 
the last trump ; for the trumpet Bhall sound, and the 
dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be 



136 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

changed.'' But in the psychological philosophy, there 
is no place left for us to thank God, who u giveth 
us the victory (over death) through our Lord Jesus 
Christ." 

Again : psycheism represents the clairvoyant state 
as a state of partial death; for our author says the 
phenomena of clairvoyance are " the result of the 
psyche or animus being so far set free from the bodily 
ultimate as to enable the spiritual body to act nearly, 
if not quite, independently of the sensual organs, and 
by perception, and in light from an inner world." 

It follows, therefore, as clairvoyance is partial death, 
total or perfect death must be a state of perfect 
clairvoyance. Indeed, this appears conclusive, as we 
shall show hereafter. 

Then Paul was still more unphilosophic ; for he 
says, " The sting of death is sin ; and the strength 
of sin is the law." To have been psychologically 
philosophic, he should have said, " The sting of 
death is clairvoyance, and the strength of clairvoy- 
ance is mesmerism." This would have been in per- 
fect good keeping with psychological death. Paul 
was a learned man ; and if he knew any thing about 
psychology, he certainly meant to condemn it ; for 
the fifteenth chapter of his first letter to the Corin- 
thians is a dead shot to psychological philosophy. 

Perhaps no doctrine ever taught has met with more 
opposition than that of the resurrection, as taught by 
Christ and his apostles. Christ preached his own 
death and resurrection, and Peter rebuked him for it. 
(Matt. xvi. 21, 22.) The Jews would not believe it, 
even after the watch declared that Christ had actu- 
ally arisen from the dead. Paul preached it, and for 
so doing he was dragged before the rulers, and ac- 



OPi \ LINE. 137 

d of being a pestilent fellow. (Acts wiii. 6; 
xxiv. ♦">.) The Sadduceea did nol belie wit; and if 

hology prevails, nobody will believe it much 
It is impossible toncile the doctrine of 

ogy with the doctrine which Paul taught of a 

nrection. So if divine revelation is allowed to 

jh any thing against the wisdom of men, or, 

rather, against the follies of men, the question is set- 

at once, without further argument, and the doc- 

v is false. " Let God be true, but 

rv man a liar." (Rom. iii. 4.) 

It ifi very singular, in my opinion, that operators in 
inerism cannot see that, according to their own 
confessions, they give evidence that no theory can be 
proved by mesmeric phenomena. This author, as we 
have already quoted, says "that the mind is the grand 
agent in all really mesmeric phenomena.'' Now, 
what can be proved by all mesmeric phenomena? 
Why, just what happens to be in the mind of the 
ator or his subject. Yet they will build theories, 
one electro-mesmeric, and another nervo-vital ; another 
magnetic, another galvanic, and another a psycho 
theory ; yet, all acknowledge that the mind, either 
alone or combined with some agent, is the primum 
mobile of the whole affair. Now, according to this 
admission, what is the foundation of all these mes- 
meric theories? Why, the imagination of the mind, 
and this only; and is virtually admitted by t! 
theorists themselv 

But it may still be said, this does not explain the 
mystery. Very true, because it does not explain the 
mystery of thinking. 

But it disproves all mesmeric theory ; for, as soon 
as we admit what mesmerizers admit, that is, that 
12* 



138 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

mind is the grand agent in all mesmeric phenomena, 
and if mesmeric phenomena are affected by the laws 
of nature, then every phenomena or occurrence in 
which mind is concerned would be an effect of men- 
tal operation. So if the farmer had a mind to have a 
great crop of corn, he would have it, whether he used 
the necessary means for it or not ; and if he had a 
mind the cattle should not destroy it, there would be 
no need of a fence around it. 

But it so happens that the mind of man alone, in 
ordinary cases, has no effect, only as it moves him to 
action. We stand around the death bed of a friend, 
and the effort of our united will alone does not ease 
one pang, or prolong the life of the sufferer one mo- 
ment. Now, why is not the will here as efficient as 
in mesmerism ? Here the will is often called into its 
most powerful action, yet it effects nothing. 

That psychology makes the state of death and the 
perfect clairvoyant state, or extasis, one and the 
same thing, may be seen in the following quotation 
from " The Celestial Telegraph," a French work, by 
Cahagnet, And if we introduce the subject somewhat 
abruptly, the reader will excuse us. We will, how- 
ever, briefly notice that Cahagnet appears to have two 
clairvoyants or mediums on hand — Bruno and Adele. 
We commence with a conversation between the oper- 
ator and Adele : — 

" Once more, allow me to make an observation on 
the last sitting. My reason for doubting that your 
soul was out of your body is, that scarcely have I 
spoken than you answer me ; and I do not perceive 
your body making any movement when you say that 
you are receiving the caresses of your relatives. 

" It is, however, this want of movement in my body 



I ION LI 139 

in itic movements, which oughl 

prove to you that I am no longer in it: when my rela- 
tives, on the contrary, c me, you 
i i ritual pressing theirs, my body gesti- 
culating, hi -. hey are really there present, and I 
i ; but when I am in heaven, my body can 
ger make the same gestures, since there is no longer 
ul within it. If I answer you immediately, it is 
because I still cling to my body by sympathetic 
threads, which you seem to me to hold like cords, forcing 
"me, when you draw them, to descend to the power of 
your will. 

" I perceive that Adele purposes entering into the 
itic state. I make up my mind to try a decisive 
experiment, and leave her to her will. I forthwith 
send Bruno to sleep, put him en rapport with her, 
and beg him to follow her as far as possible; recom- 
mending him not to be alarmed, and to warn me only 
if he should see danger. I wished to be assured by 
myself of the pretended dangers of ecstasy. Frequent- 
ly had Adele told me that she had been on the point 
of not coming back to reenter her body; and as I 
thought she only wanted to alarm me, I wished to 
know what opinion to come to. At the lapse of a 
quarter of an hour, Bruno exclaims, in great alarm, 
1 I have lost sight of her! ' 

u I had relied upon him, and paid but little attention 
to Adele, whose body, in the mean time, had grown 
icy cold ; there was no longer any pulse or respiration : 
her face was of a sallow green, her lips blue, her heart 
gave no sign of life. I placed before her lips a mirror, 
but it was by no mean- tarnished by them. I magnet- 
ized her powerfully, in order to bring back her soul 
into her body ; but for five minutes my labor was vain. 



140 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

Bruno, alarmed at my want of success, as well as the 
persons present at this sitting, tended greatly to dis- 
turb me. I thought for a moment that the work was 
consummated, and that I had an indubitable proof 
that the soul had departed from her body. 

" I was obliged to request the persons present to pass 
into another room, in order that I might recover by 
myself a little energy. At the lapse of a few moments 
I entertained the hope that I should not have such a 
misfortune to deplore ; but, physically speaking, I was 
utterly powerless. Falling on my knees, I asked back* 
of God, in my prayer, the soul that I had, in my 
doubts, suffered to depart. I seemed, by an effect of 
intuition, to know that my prayer was heard. After 
a minute's further anguish, I obtained these words : 
' Why have you called me back ? It was all over 
with me; but God, moved at your prayer, sent me 
back to you. No more shall I be permitted to return 
to heaven ; I am punished.' ' Of what punishment 
do you speak ? ' 4 Raphael has forbidden my mother 
and all my relations, except Alphonse, to come and 
see me again until further orders ; and it is to you 
that I am indebted for this privation. I shall no 
longer be able to ascend to heaven ; but had it not 
been for you, I should have been there now and for- 
ever.' 

" It may be naturally supposed that I paid but little 
attention to her complaints and reproaches. I was 
only too happy to hear her speak to me ; and promised 
myself, as my readers may imagine, never to recom- 
mence such experiments. I advise those who should 
be so disposed to imitate me never to make such a 
trial, for no spectacle can be more alarming; and the 
issue of such experiments might terminate fatally. 



OPPOSITION LINE. 141 

" It was all over with her ecstasies, just as she had 
predicted; no one came any more to see her. Her 

brother often instructed her in what was agreeable to 

her; but the self-will of Adele, and her little regard 
for his complaisance, drove him away. It was more 
than six months before she recovered this kind of 
clairvoyance. I was not sorry for it, as I was deter- 
mined not to magnetize her again. There was a con- 
tinual combat of subtlety between us two. If I lost 
sight of her for an instant, she had ever the same 
intention — suicide in ecstasy ! 

" Several times since she sought to reenter this 
state, but she invariably felt a hand which pushed her 
head forward ; sometimes she heard boisterous music, 
which diverted her from her purpose; and once a 
voice exclaimed in her ear, ' That is forbidden you.' 
It was her brother Alphonse who worked all these 
miracles. He never came to see her without diverting 
her by an air on a flute, although before his death he 
knew not how to play that instrument; he often ren- 
dered perceptible to her a divine music, which she 
could hear, though wide awake, by a secret she had 
taught me to employ to this effect. She equally saw 
all her relations after she awoke — a circumstance that 
excited her astonishment, and made her believe in 
magic. She could not comprehend, be it understood, 
these kinds of visions, which made me pass in her 
eyes for a sorcerer. We are bound to conclude from 
all these experiments, which lasted whole months, and 
which I compress into one sitting, that it would be 
more than ridiculous that a woman so firm should not 
perceive at will the freaks of her imagination, if such 
they were; but, on the contrary, that all these facts 
presented such a variety, only the better to dispose 
me to believe in their merits." 



142 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

From the above account it is certain that the per- 
fect state of mesmeric ecstasy is death, protracted at 
the will of the operator. But, in the case just related, 
the operator gave his subject up to the care of another, 
Bruno. But the wily Adele so managed as to give 
him the slip, and put off, like a colt untied, so far into 
the regions of celestial bliss as to bid defiance to the 
electric flight of mesmeric power to overtake her, or 
drag her back to her frail body, the ultimate of which 
she left in the hands of her astonished operator, as a 
sure demonstration of the identity of the states of 
death and clairvoyance. But it appears that in 
Adele's resurrection no credit is due to mesmerism. 
Cahagnet, her operator, exhausted the powers of mes- 
merism upon her corpse to no purpose. He then tried 
the efficacy of prayer to God for the return of that 
truant soul which he had so carelessly let slip through 
his ringers into the abode of eternal bliss. In this he 
was more successful, but he forgot to give God the 
glory. 

So, where proud mesmerism failed, 

The fervent prayer to God prevailed. 

Trust then the magic power who durst ; 

Til trust the mighty Father first. 

And when, O Lord, " thy kingdom come," 

If I, by faith, be Abra'm's son, 

Nor grace, nor faith, nor virtue lack, 

From thence no power will call me back. 

It is not at all strange that Adele should be dissat- 
isfied, and reproach her operator for calling her back. 
She had lived long enough in this world to experience 
its countless woes, and had frequently, in the mes- 
meric state, been in heaven, and tasted its never-ending 



OPPOSITION LINE 143 

But how dors this account stand in the light of 
divine revelation? God has from the beginning pre- 
sented mankind with a plan of salvation. But that 
plan has never suited the wicked. They have ever 
been seeking out one of their own. The ancient 
Babylonians undertook to build their way up to heaven 
with brick and mortar. The modern Babylonians are 
now undertaking it by psychology. And, in the case 
of Adele, it appears their plan works admirably. She 
actually got there in safety, and had it not been for 
the unwillingness of her operator, she would have 
remained there forever, according to her own confes- 
sion. 

Now, it is abundantly revealed in Scripture that 
there is but one plan of salvation : " This is the stone 
which was set at nought of you builders, which is 
become the head of the corner. Neither is there sal- 
vation in any other: for there is none other name 
under heaven given among men, whereby we must 
be saved.'' (Acts iv. 11, 12.) In the psychological 
tower this stone is left out — set at nought by its 
builders. 

Yet mesmerism pretends to offer us indubitable 
evidence that the "psyche," "the ultimate of the 
spiritual body, the inner man" is set at liberty by 
mesmerism, and sent into the eternal abode of happi- 
ness, and may be retained there at the will of the 
parties forever. This appears evident from the caution 
agnet gives to mesmerizers, not to let their sub- 
- give them the slip as Adele did, and hide them- 
selves perhaps in some amaranthine grove till all is 
over on earth with the body. Like some poor trem- 
bling slave, being permitted by his master to make a 
short visit to a land of liberty, watches his opportunity 



144 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

to hide himself in the thicket of some wood till the 
search of his master is over. 

The reader will recollect that Cahagnet tried this 
experiment for the express purpose of ascertaining 
whether a clairvoyant, once in heaven by mesmerism, 
could remain there if he chose. And the result was, 
he ascertained, that if the clairvoyant was any way 
stubborn about coming back, there was not power 
enough in mesmerism to bring him back. Hence his 
caution to operators not to let their subjects slip aicay 
from them. 

Now, in the light of common sense and divine 
revelation, the whole affair is so ridiculous as almost 
to make an iron pen blush to write it; yet, such is 
the rage of mesmeric mania, that it seems to threaten 
to carry all before it. Men whose powers of mind are 
such as would seem sufficient to shield them from the 
illusion, are often the first to run into it. 

But there has always been a tendency in man to 
seek some opportunity to throw off those moral re- 
straints which a kind Providence has laid us under 
for our good and his glory, and to find some other way 
to get along which is more congenial to the feelings 
of depraved nature. And nothing seems better calcu- 
lated to effect this purpose than the so called science 
of mesmerism. It is, in its general features, well cal- 
culated to meet the approbation of a wicked world. 
Nothing can be more repugnant to the gospel of Jesus 
Christ. One affirms, the other denies. If either one 
is true, the other is false. Christ and Antichrist are 
not more antagonistic than Christianity and Mesmer- 
ism. 

Christ said to the wicked and unbelieving Jews, 
"Yet a little while am I with you, and then I go unto 



OPPOSITION LIM . 145 

him that sent me. Ye shall seek me, and shall not 
find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come." 
(John vii. 33, 34.) But it appears from the tit-science 

of mesmerism, that they might, with all their sins and 
unbelief, have found him in heaven had they been well 
-tnerized. It is evident that it requires no Daniel 
to teach us that, ill proportion as mesmerism ad- 
vances, the Bible must recede; and when the truth 
of one is fairly established, the other is as fairly over- 
thrown. 

13 



146 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 



CHAPTER X. 

GOOD AND BAD SPIRITS. — TABLE TIPPING. — THEIR 
REAL TIPPING DOUBTED. — RAPID PROGRESS OF 
SPIRITUAL MANIFESTATIONS. — REFLECTIONS. — DOU- 
BLE LIFE IN MAN. 

But suppose disclosures are actually made by the 
spirits of the dead, there is no safety in relying on 
them ; for it is generally admitted by spiritualists 
themselves that both good and bad spirits do influence 
mediums, and through them make revelations. One 
describes its heavenly joys, and tells how long it has 
been dead, &c, while the person whose spirit it pro- 
fesses to be is still living. Another was called up who 
appeared to be very correct till he came to speak of 
his death, which he said was of consumption ; while 
the fact was, he was blown up in a steamboat. But 
a still greater mistake occurred in the case of Dr. 
Franklin. Three individuals, by preconcerted agree- 
ment, went to three places at a distance from each 
other on the same evening, where the rapping spirits 
held sessions, and at eight o'clock, or as near as pos- 
sible, each one called up the spirit of Dr. Franklin, and 
held a conversation with him nearly an hour. So his 
spirit was present at the same time in three places, 
remote from each other. This was not all — one of 
the visitors engaged the doctor in conversation on his 
favorite topic — electricity. But after a long time, 
rinding him very ignorant of his own theory, he said 
to him, " Why, doctor, we thought when you was alive 
you did know something ; but now you seem almost 



OPPOSITION LIKE. 147 

a fooL" Done, rapped the spirit indignantly; and 

away went the doctor. When the spirits get drawn 
into a bad ii\, they generally get out by rapping, done. 
The one purporting himself to be Dr. Franklin, and 
finding himself unable to play off the old philosopher, 
rapped out done, and cleared out. 

But his mortification must have been still greater 
when he came to learn that he had, at the same time, 
been in two other neighborhoods talking with others, 
and had but one spirit. The tipping of tables and 
moving of furniture has, by some, been considered a 
stronger demonstration of the presence of spirits than 
the raps; while others attribute the former to electrical 
action, independently of spiritual agency, as may be 
seen by the following, which appeared in the " New 
York Courier and Enquirer : " — 



-HOW TABLES ARE MADE MEDIUMS. 

" In the family of a friend of ours, several attempts 
have been made to divine the secret of table moving, 
chair dancing, and other freaks of household furniture, 
which form part of the spirit-rapping exhibitions. 
Last evening they succeeded perfectly. 

" Standing around a small table, five or six members 
of the family kept their hands upon its surface for a 
considerable time, until the magnetic current between 
themselves and the table was established. 

" They then found that, by holding the hand a short 
distance from the table, attraction remained in full 
force. The table, without being touched, was thus 
lifted, or made to lean over at an angle of forty-five 
degrees, and subsequently followed the operators to 
some distance. 



148 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

H The table on which these young people experi- 
mented was a very small one. We presume that, 
when the experiment has been a few times repeated, 
the table will yield to the attractive force with more 
ready and wonderful agility. There can be little 
doubt that it is magnetized ; and if so, each trial, we 
believe, will increase the power of attraction. This, 
we take it, solves the whole seeming mystery of the 
spiritual imposition which has been practised so long 
upon the credulous and superstitious. The moving 
of tables by an unseen power has always been ac- 
counted a greater feat than the producing of sound. 
We have no doubt that the same agent can produce 
both effects. 

" The imposture consisted in the pretence to be 
supernatural intercommunications. We hope soon to 
hear that, the key being discovered, the whole impo- 
sition has come to an end. 

" Of the boldness of the imposture we have had, 
and have given, illustrations ; and probably the rappers 
will find some dupes, even in spite of evidence of their 
fraud." 

The " Courier " seems to be of opinion that the 
hitherto pretended spiritual agency in table tipping 
is an imposition upon the credulous and superstitious. 
But with all due regard to the opinion of that respect- 
able paper, we ask, Which requires the more credu- 
lity — to believe the table tips by the agency of unseen 
spirits, or by unseen and undemonstrated magnetism ? 
There is certainly no more proof of the one than there 
is of the other. It is mere theory in either case. 
Notice the following expression : " We presume that, 
when the experiment has been a few times repeated, 
the table will yield to the attractive force with more 



OPPOSITION LINK. 149 

ready and wonderful agility. There can be little 
doubt that it is magnetized; and if so, each trial, we 

believe, will increase the power of attraction. This, 
we take it, solves the whole seeming mystery," &C, 
This is certainly contrary to any known laws of mag- 
netism. We take it the table was a wooden one ; and 
by what laws of that agent can wood be magnetized? 
Again: even if the table was of either of the metals 
susceptible of receiving the magnetic property, by 
what law of magnetism would repeated trials render 
it more susceptible of magnetic attraction? If this 
Bolves the "mystery of spiritual imposition," it does 
so only by involving us in a still greater mystery or 
scientific i m position. 

So the discovery of the key to unlock the mystery 
is the discovery of a greater mystery than that which 
is under the lock. So, on the whole, we are no wiser, 
no less credulous, or less imposed upon than before. 
If there is any magnetic attraction between the hand 
and the table, it is certain that they would be in oppo- 
site states ; and nothing would be more easy than to 
detect these opposite states by the usual tests of mag- 
netism. This never has been done, and never can be. 
We ask, then, how the mystery is solved ? Let it be 
scientifically solved, and not by the arbitrary use of 
terms, and we are ready to admit the solution ; but 
not till then. But the mystery stops not here. It is 
said that tables move in any direction, according to 
the will of a person or persons in the room. Now, 
how does magnetism obey the will of a mortal? or 
what power has the will to control that agent without 
the use of means ? 

A correspondent of the "Tribune" lately asserted 
that, after taking a ride on the table herself, it moved 
13* 



ISO THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

in a certain direction by the will of a person who was 
directed to will it that way. She attributed the cause 
to electricity instead of magnetism, which accounts 
for the phenomenon just as well ; and had she said 
the motive power was the moon, or Jupiter, it would 
still explain the phenomenon just as well. For there 
can be no philosophical reason given why the primary 
or secondary planets should not obey the will of man 
as well as electricity or magnetism ; and that they 
have as much power to give the ladies a ride on tables, 
cannot be doubted. Now, one of two opinions must 
be adopted, or the electrical or magnetical theory of 
table tipping must be abandoned. And that is — 
electricity controls the will, or the will controls elec- 
tricity. And if electricity controls the will, we are 
not free agents, and are not accountable to our Maker. 
But if the will controls electricity, that is not a free 
agent, or one that is subject to the laws of nature. 

But it appears that the advocates of table tipping 
do not agree concerning the agency in the case. We 
give the following from the " Spiritual Telegraph." 
published at New York, March 26, 1853 : — 

"TABLES PREACHING. 

" It seems there are not only ' sermons in stones,' but 
sermons in tables ; and they are doing a work for 
spiritual truth, or are the visible instruments of produ- 
cing conviction that a less sensuous form of preaching 
would never have accomplished. People amuse them- 
selves with what is called the 'table experiment,' and 
when they imagine they have made a great electric 
discovery, they find all at once that they have obtained 
more than they have bargained for. They do n*>t 



OPPOSITION' [.INK. 161 

alw 1 In Btopping the fable at will, and 

sometimes they ask questions 'just for fun,' and are 
struck with amazement al the wonderful intelligence 
of ' electricity.' Nothing could be more exactly adapt- 
ed to our materialist brethren than this table experi- 
ment. Every fashionable circle that plays with it is 
convinced that the table moves; that they do not 
move it ; and they know that some power must do 
it. Every man of science, or the merest casual reader 
of any work on electricity, scouts the idea of the phe- 
nomenon being produced by that agent. The absurd- 
ity of charging a tabic 4 , standing on the floor, often 
with metallic casters, with electricity, is sheer non- 
sense." 

The editor then gives an extract from a letter, dated 
Morrisville, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, February 25, 
1853, in which we notice the following: — 

u The general introduction of the ' table experiment ' 
contributed to spread the matter beyond all calcula- 
tion ; the notion that the tables were moved by simple 
electricity became almost general ; and nobody had 
any scruples against amusing themselves with so 
harmless a plaything. The consequence was, every 
one tried it with various success; and the curiosity of 
some led them to extend their experiments, and ask 
the tables to answer questions, by certain affirmative 
and negative motions agreed on, which succeeded to 
the astonishment of almost every body, and is likely 
to establish a very important fact, viz., that electricity 
is possessed of inti lligi nee far surpassing that of many 
of the experimenter-. " 

Thus we see the evil tendency of ascribing electrical 
agency to the " table experiments." It first embolden- 
people to experiment ; and finally, making them 



152 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

ashamed to attribute such intelligence to electricity, it 
leaves them no other alternative but to impute the 
whole to spiritual agency. We are sorry to find some 
who pretend to oppose spiritual disclosures, and yet 
maintain the electrical agency in table tipping. We 
have always contended that such, in the end, would 
do more towards advancing the fatal delusion than 
the advocates of spiritual disclosures themselves. 
Among them we find the editor of the " Watchman," 
published at Hartford. No one appears to btTmore 
violently opposed to spiritual disclosures than he, and 
yet none are more sanguine in the opinion that elec- 
tricity is the agent employed in table tipping. And 
what is more singular, he does not believe in a con- 
scious, personal devil, or in the conscious state of the 
dead. It follows, then, that neither the devil, nor the 
spirits of the dead, have any thing to do in the phe- 
nomenon. He says, " We have also witnessed the 
tippings; and but a few evenings since we had the 
privilege of scanning the phenomenon for near two 
hours, and we think all present were perfectly satis- 
fied that the power employed by the actors was elec- 
tricity, coupled with nervous sympathy." He thinks 
that to charge the agency home upon the devil would 
have a tendency " to induce a faith that there are 
spirits of the dead, or begetting a settled spirit of scep- 
ticism in divine revelation, and especially in the mira- 
cles of the gospel." According to the theory that 
there are no devils but wicked men, to say the unseen 
devil moves tables, would be to say there are conscious 
spirits of the dead. But with all due respect to his 
opinion, we kindly ask, Which is the more dangerous 
error — that dead men have living, conscious spirits, or 
that electricity has such a spirit? That the phenom- 



OPPOSITION LINK. 153 

ena are produced by a conscious agent is evident from 
his own observation; for he says, to produce the phe- 
nomena there must be a little company to make the 
trial, say half a dozen, all wishing to see the tipping*, 
and then they will get such testimony as is congenial 
to the wish of the company. Now, one of three things 
grant the wish of such a company, viz., the devil, the 
spirits of the dead, or electricity. But what do we 
gain by denying the existence of the devil, and grant- 
ing satanic power to electricity? It is only substitut- 
ing the name electricity for that of devil. He thinks 
the time is not far distant when this agent will per- 
form greater wonders than has ever been witnessed. 
This is more than the believers in a devil believe him 
capable of doing, and makes electricity able to out' 
devil the devil himself. Perhaps he thinks that, in- 
stead of taking a ride round a room on a table, they 
will yet be so highly charged as to be able to take 
passengers and baggage over the country, to the exclu- 
sion of railroad cars and steamboats. 

In his article, a quotation from which we have 
given, he has shown to the world that he is as grossly 
ignorant of the first principles of electricity as he is of 
the alphabet of mesmerism. By what law of electricity 
can a table be so charged as to raise it from the floor, 
with a man or two on it, and by the same charge be 
so riveted to the floor that two or three cannot raise 
it? Or by what kind of electrical action can a table 
be made to walk off* on all fours at an editorial nod ? 

We have often heard of " the editor's devil," but 
always thought he was one of the homo genus, 
endowed with the faculty of giving the power of 
speech to type metal. But this editor seems possessed 
of one, sui generis, which professes to be unlike any 



154 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

of the black fraternity, disclaiming all relationship to 
the satanic family, but claiming kindred to the light- 
ning of heaven ; and whose throne is the clouds, and 
whose sceptre is the thunderbolt. Now, with all due 
regard to the rapid march of table-tipping intellect, 
we candidly ask, Which is the less sin in a Christian 
editor — to be led astray by the old devil, or the new 
one? 

As his paper professes to be perfectly free for the 
investigation of both sides of a question, I thought to 
avail myself of the opportunity to defend my position, 
especially as the attack was made upon me and my 
views. But he found it more convenient to curtail the 
professed freedom of his paper than to defend himself 
upon sound principles of philosophy, common sense, 
or divine revelation ; and so I was refused a hearing. 
It was undoubtedly thought imprudent to trust the 
public with both sides of the question. 

While we see such a fearful shrinking from a can- 
did investigation of the subject, even by those who 
profess to combat the fatal delusion, we cannot won- 
der at the complete success those meet with who 
really do advocate it. Now, what is being done to 
prevent the wide spread of the God-forbidden prac- 
tice ? Nothing effectual. Many who pretend to 
oppose it seem afraid to meet it in its true light. One 
is afraid to call it satanic influence, because a belief 
in his majesty's personality is not as popular in these 
knowing times as it was in the days of our Savior. 
Another fears to be thought behind the times with 
regard to the rapid march of science ; and so the devil 
is left to take the field with little or no opposition. 

But, after all, it remains to be proved that tables 
move or tip in what is called table-tipping experi- 



OPPOSITION LINK. 155 

ments. They arc inanimate and inert bodies. And 
a body at real will remain at rest forever, or until a 
Btlfficieni force I8 applied to move it. This force does 
not reside in the human will, neither can the will 
alone call a force into action. 

But it may be asked how they appear to move, if 
they really do not. The fact is, they never do move 
in the eyes of those who know that the whole is a 
hallucination of the mind. No matter how many 
person- are ready to testify to their locomotion, no 
human testimony is to be allowed in the case. It is 
contrary to all known and immutable laws of nature, 
but is in harmony with a certain kind of phantasm 
known in all ages. Under certain circumstances, 
people have, from time immemorial, seen things 
which did not exist. But these things never happen 
in the normal play of the faculties of the mind. To 
produce them, the equilibrium of the mind must be 
destroyed by some exciting cause. This cause is 
sometimes sickness — exhaustion from fatigue — the 
action of certain medicines, and sometimes fear; but 
more frequently by something being presented to the 
mind of a wonderful or marvellous nature. As man 
seems to have an innate propensity for something of 
a stimulous nature, such as distilled spirits, tobacco, 
tea. &c., so the mind has an innate tendency to swal- 
low whatever is marvellous or mysterious ; and hence 
children are all ears to a ghost story, a witch feat, or 
a fairy dance; indeed, we are all children in that 
Thousands of men may be easily got to- 
gether to see a man walking about dressed in a wind- 
ing sheet, and without a head on ; while it would be 
difficult to find one willing to put himself to much 
trouble to see a man walking with a head on. 



156 



THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 



In the former case, there is a banquet spread to 
feast the marvellous, the appetite of which, by nature 
keen, is more so on approaching the object of its 
desire. Like a hungry wolf, whose appetite for mut* 
ton is naturally sharp, is doubly so on approaching 
the quiet fold. 

But, as feeding the desire for distilled spirits results 
in intoxication, so feeding the desire for the marvel- 
lous results in hallucination, or intoxication of the 
mind. Under such circumstances, a man's testimony 
is not to be taken, any more than when he is drunk. 
The deranged play of the senses presents things to the 
mind, in strength, according to the degree of excite- 
ment, but not at all according to facts ; and, as we 
are by nature creatures of sympathy, it is often very 
difficult for us to avoid sympathizing with our fellow- 
creatures, and often as difficult to avoid partaking of 
their excitement and consequent frenzy. 

Through this channel the monomania seems con- 
tagious. For instance : let a person report that at a 
certain place he saw a ghost walking about with his 
throat cut; a mystery is involved, and an excitement 
raised, and the next person passing that way will be 
very likely to see it, and the next, and so on till it is 
seen by hundreds ; and the more the excitement is 
raised, the more people will see it. In this way the 
most marvellous things were witnessed in the " Salem 
witchcraft," as long as the excitement was kept up; 
and execution followed execution, till the excitement 
gave way to the fear of individual safety, which put 
an end to the shameful tragedy. 

Just so in mesmerism. It is mystery and excite- 
ment. Indeed, it is nothing else, and its wonders are 
as unreal as the feats of the Salem witches; and 



or. > mm:. \'n 

when viewed in the light i quickly 

lisb. 
Now, a person to Bee a table walk off on all foi 

i witch ride a broomstick through the uir, m 

i himself to the excitement of the marvel! 
and catch the mania, — be in the hallucinating har- 
mony, — and these things may be seen now, as well as 
formerly at Salem. No new principle of action has 

n^ into being since the days of Adam. Talk 
about the electrical philosophy of riding on a table! 
The same cause that effects it will carry an old wo- 

i through the air on a broomstick. Only get up an 
t; harmonial " excitement to that effect, and one may 
be done as well as the other. It costs no more to 
charge a broomstick than a table. The same prin- 
ciples that explain one, explain the other. 

But before a person can see any of these things, he 
must drink in the witchcraft mania; but if he knows 
them to be "lying wonders,*' he can never see them. 
Let him keep himself aloof from excitement, retain- 
ing his presence of mind, and, if necessary, look 
through a tube or a keyhole at the table, or a part of 

nd all the mediums, witches, and devils cannot. 
make it budge an inch without hands. But in cases 
where there is a pact all in ' ; harmony," wishing and 
expecting to witness the wonder, these things may be 
seen. 

Let it be remembered that marvellousness produ< 
excitement, an I but another name for 

monomania; that is, insanity on the subject of the 

tement This is the true secret of witchcraft, 

imerisra, psychology, circle disclosures, rapping 
spirits, table tipping eing, haunted bout 

whenever anyone of thi omes the rally- 

14 



158 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

ing point of excitement. These things may not exist 
only in the diseased action of an inflamed imagi- 
nation, — a perversion of the senses, — none of which 
are more- perverted than that wisdom which attempts 
to account for them scientifically. Every such at- 
tempt is virtually an attempt to mathematize witch- 
craft. 

The power of imagination is truly wonderful, and 
but little behind it ; and not less mysterious is the 
power of excitement, and both are often irresistibly 
contagious. The various phenomena of mesmerism 
and spiritual disclosures have every where excited the 
wonderful and the marvellous, the very elements of 
which compose the mystery, which, in its progress, 
has gathered force from the nature of its own action. 
Like a stone torn from the brow of some precipitous 
mountain, in its descent, at first slow, acquires in- 
creased momentum from its own motion, which again 
is accelerated by its own momentum. So the mys- 
tery of mesmerism and spiritual disclosures has 
created its own wonder, and its own wonder has 
created its own mystery. 

To solve this mystery, men have hitherto looked 
the wrong way, and applied the wrong tests. Some, 
as we have shown, in vain have attempted to solve it 
scientifically. This cannot be done till the mystery 
of imagination can be so solved. Others have at- 
tempted it by the art of jugglery ; but this too has 
failed ; while another class refer a part of it to the 
agency of spirits. This comes the nearest to it ; for 
the devil plays a very conspicuous part in it. Now, 
we venture a prediction, that the thing will never be 
solved by any test applied to the apparent mysteries 
themselves ; for the more the thing is so tested, the 



OPPOSITION LINE. 159 

iter the mysteries will seem. But if they cannot 
be solved, there is a way to make them vanish; that 
is, try the strength of Imagination, and it will be 
found she is capable of producing all these wonders; 
and this being found, the wonders disperse. Like a 
cabal of fairies who revel out the night in the hall of 
some old deserted castle, as the cock begins to crow, 
and the 1 day to usher in, with hasty steps retire ; so 
he who knows these things 1o be imagination cannot 
investigate them, for he can find nothing to inves- 
te. To him no tables tip; no communications are 
made ; no spirits appear. The cock has crowed, day- 
light has appeared, and the ghosts are gone. The 
phantom car has passed his platform, and left him to 
wonder after its rapid flight. 

To investigate a fairy dance, one must go in the 
night; for he cannot find one to investigate by day. 
So, to investigate the mysteries of modern spiritual- 
ism, one must go while the night of mysticism rests 
on his mind. The secret of the great mystery lies in 
the mind of the beholder; and when he knows it is 
there he no longer sees it, and is no longer " in har- 
mony," but is called, by those that are, " an evil spirit." 
Besides the effective power of the mind, it has 
another property not generally understood ; that is, 
the rapidity with which it passes over imaginary 
events. To clothe our ideas with words, takes up 
time; but ideas often pass in the mind without that 
order of time. There 4 are many instances known in 
which persons have been known to dream as much in 
a few minutes as takes them hours to relate — the 
whole passing in the mind instantly. For instance : 
a man throws himself upon a couch, and dreams of 
seeing something about to produce a great noise, as 



160 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

the discharge of a gun, or the fall of a heavy body; 
and, at the instant he expects the report or the crash, 
a door is slammed to, and wakes him. In such cases, 
it is evident his dream did not begin till he supposed 
it ended ; that is, his first waking impression is taken 
for what seemed to precede the noise, when, in reality, 
it is what passed instantly in the mind after the 
noise, nothing having been dreamed before the noise. 
These things sometimes occur in the waking state, 
as well as in sleep, especially when anything wonder- 
ful is up in the mind, or when the body is exhausted 
with fatigue or sickness. A volume of such cases 
might be given ; but the reader will bring to mind 
circumstances in which living persons have appar- 
ently been seen when absent, and even when dead. 
It was formerly supposed that dreams only occurred 
in sleep ; but it is now generally admitted that they 
never occur in perfectly sound sleep, and they may, 
and certainly do, occur in the waking state. We will 
relate one instance: I was once standing on the 
bank of the Hoosic River, just below the village of 
Hoosic Falls, wondering what had become of a cow 
I had turned into a field by the river, when, looking on 
the opposite side, some thirty or forty rods above, I 
saw a lady walking down on the sand, between high 
and low-water mark. The circumstance excited no 
interest at all till she came nearly opposite, to a high 
brush fence, called by the farmers a water fence, as it 
extends from tne common fence from high-water 
mark into the river. This she mounted with extreme 
agility and buoyancy ; but, in setting her feet upon it, 
she settled into it with a crash of dry limbs ; and, as 
if exerting herself a few moments to get free, she 
presently became a large yellow dog; still exerting 






tTION line, lfil 

himself to gel oul of the old fence, which was all the 
time crackling. But soon the dog underwent another 
metamorphosis, and became a red fox, still struggling 
to get out, the fence still crackling, until be seemed 
to lose himself in the fence, and all was still. I then 
wenl immediately up the river, crossed the bridge, and 
down on the other side, critically surveying the ground 
passed over by the spectre. - There were no tracks 
left by the lady on the sand she walked over, and 
when I came to the fence seen from the other side, 
behold, there was no fence there! 

The whole scene was a hallucination, a waking 
vision, which grew out of the little excitement raised 
upon the mysterious disappearance of the creature I 
was in pursuit of. I take this to be a fair specimen 
of a ghost or ghosts, for there were at least four — the 
ghost of a lady, the ghost of a dog and fox, and the 
ghost of an old brush fence. I never in all my life 
witnessed any thing more real to all appearance. 
The whole time the scene was passing was about 
ten minutes ; at the same lime, perhaps, the impres- 
sions were all conceived in the mind in the twinkling 
of an eye ; nor is it at all certain that my eyes were at 
any time directed to the opposite side of the river, 
for if is not by ordinary vision that these things are 
seen. 

Such supernatural appearances have been known 

in all ages. Multitudes are said to follow .Eolus, 

the god of wind, to a mountain, and see him hurl his 

ii spear into it, and \rt out the wind in a tornado. 

ancient Greeks and Romans were in the 

habit of seeing some deceased general or nobleman 

riding in his carriage through the streets of their 

cities, the horses snorting, the thongs cracking, the 

14* 



162 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

dust flying, the postilion and boxman all as real as 
the lady, the dog, and the fence — just about. 

So people may see tables tip, and ladies ride on 
them as on a broomstick through the air, while stands 
and chairs are dancing the polka. But in such cases, 
no human testimony is to be taken ; the mind's dis- 
ease — excited imagination — is at the bottom of it 
all. It is, nevertheless, the strong delusion which we 
are forbidden to run into, and which leads to infidel- 
ity and dishonoring God ; and is spreading at so 
rapid a rate, that it is time for the lovers of truth and 
holiness to wake up and defend the religion of Christ. 
Let us look back a few years, and see the rapid 
march of this anti- Christian monster, and say how 
long it will be before Christianity will be numbered 
among the things that were. " It will be five years 
on Thursday next (March 31) since the Fox family 
were first alarmed by the ' rappings ' to such a de- 
gree as to make it known to their neighbors, and ask 
their assistance in solving the mystery. Then it pro- 
duced a great excitement in the vicinity, but was 
soon expected to pass away, and the family prayed to 
be rid of the annoyance. 

" Now, every state in the Union, Canada, and all 
parts of the civilized world have been made acquainted 
with the spiritual manifestations. The mediums of 
the United States embrace every class of society, and 
number their ten thousands, and the firm believers 
are not less than half a million. The Fox family 
have visited many of the principal cities, and have 
carried convincing proofs of spiritual manifestations 
wherever they have been." — Spiritual Telegraph. 

Such is the rage of mesmeric mania. "What Chris- 
tian, without the deepest emotions of horror, can 



OPPOSITION LINE. 168 

contemplate its progress for five years to come ? It 
is not doing its work among the obscure, the igno- 
rant, and the vulgar alone, lis advocates arc among 
the influential, the popular, and Buch as stand on an 
eminence in society. Even professors of the religion 
of the Holy One of God are abandoning the cause of 
their' heavenly Master, and betaking themselves to 
the rapping spirits. Even the very watchmen on the 
walls of Zion, instead of giving the alarm, have de- 
sert ed their posts, and have gone over to the enemy. 
The latter cases, it is true, are not many, as yet ; but 
they are sufficient to show what must be expected as 
the thing becomes more popular. And its popularity 
is having a rapid growth ; and, unchecked, must soon 
drive religion from the land. Its touch is like that of 
the torpedo. Its advocates have only to come within 
its influence, and, quick as magic, all reverence for 
the word of God and holy things is paralyzed. The 
" circle disclosures " are now law and gospel. The 
age of faith has gone by, and a new era has com- 
menced, in which men are to walk by facts, and not 
by faith. And holy men of old, instead of being in- 
spired of God, were good mediums, and, among them 
all, Christ was the most perfect medium. 

Now, brethren, far and near, of whatever denom- 
ination, what is to be done ? You see this is the last, 
the most powerful, and boldest attempt of the devil to 
tread out the last remaining sparks of faith in God 
and his holy word. Shall we tamely submit and give 
up the holy cause, after having so long defended the 
faith? or shall we rise en masse, in the strength of 
il's God, and boldly face the magic foe? 

Think not the thing will, by and by, die out of its 
own accord. It is a matter of prophecy, and we 



164 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

must meet it in its general deluge-like form. It 
will be much easier to meet it to day than to-morroic. 
Every day it is growing stronger and stronger, spread- 
ing wider and wider, and taking deeper and deeper 
hold of the minds of the people. I repeat it, we 
must meet it; and shall we meet it with the boldness 
of a Paul? or, with the timorousness of a Peter, 'keep 
back in the porch, and deny that we ever knew the 
man ? I know there are many who are not aware that 
there is any danger to be apprehended from it. But 
there is danger. The evil will come like a flood, but 
let it not find us asleep; for the more we fancy our- 
selves secure, the sooner it will overtake us. Some- 
thing should be done immediately. It is easier to 
keep ten out of it who are not in it, than to get one 
out after he gets in ; and if all could be kept out who 
are out, it would soon die. But if we fail to keep all 
out, let us not fail to keep out all we can. A learned 
divine has said it was worth the united prayers of all 
Christendom to save one sinner; if so, it is certainly 
worth its united efforts to save the Church from obliv- 
ion. Let us then make a bold and noble effort; and 
if it has no other effect, it will tell in our favor at the 
day of judgment, when our skirts will be clear, and 
we shall hear the happy plaudit, " Well done, thou 
good and faithful servant." 

I would therefore recommend to every clergyman in 
the United States and through the world, not to wait 
until the evil gets into his flock, but begin now, and 
show up rapology, mesmerism, necromancy, &c, in 
their true light, and sufficiently warn the people of 
the approaching danger, and create in them, as far as 
possible, a dread of its deluding influence ; and, with 
the blessings of God, I believe such efforts would be 
attended with much good. 



OPPOSITION LINE. 165 

We cannot do belter than to close this chapter by 
introducing a few remarks by J. S. White, a respect- 
able preacher of the gospel of Christ at Worcester, 
Mass.: — 

" The spirit communications are spoken of as 
something new under the sun. It is said that the 
race is so far advanced in progression, that this mode 
of revelation or communication may be properly and 
successfully introduced. It is contended that the race 
is to be enlightened and essentially benefited by this 
mode of intelligence ; that heaven and earth are to 
be brought together, and a new era is now to appear 
upon the world. 

" That this is new in the history of the world is 
contrary to fact, though it may be new in our day ; 
for, since the history of man, we find this pretended 
intercourse with the spirits of the dead was practised 
by the heathen, before the days of Moses. (See 
Deul. xviii. 9-14.) 

" In the catalogue of names here given, we have 
that of necromancy. Webster defines necromancy 
thus : ' The art of revealing future events by means 
of a pretended communication with the dead;' and 
necromancer, { One who pretends to foretell future 
events by holding converse with departed spirits.' 
This is just what the spirit mediums are now pre- 
tending to do. They have their familiar spirits, guar- 
dian angels, and they pretend to consult them in 
relation to the affairs of the living. In so doing, they 
do the very thing that was practised by the heathen 
nations some four thousand years ago. Instead, there- 
fore, of this being a step forward in progression, it is 
a long step backward to ancient heathenism. The 



166 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

Lord said that this was one of the .abominations for 
which he drove the heathen out of Canaan. 

" The pretended spirits deny the Bible. And why? 
Because the Bible condemns them, and because the 
Bible affirms the opposite of what they claim. 

"Take one example: Job xiv. 21, speaking of the 
man who dies, it is said, ' His sons come to honor, 
•and he knoweth it not ; they are brought low, but he 
perceiveth it not of them.' But the pretended spirits 
say they do know. They affirm — the Bible denies. 
Who is right? Inasmuch, then, as the Bible both 
condemns and contradicts them, they are compelled 
to deny some part of it, at least, in order to have 
success with the living. 

"' When they shall say unto you. Seek unto them 
that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, 
and that mutter : should not a people -seek unto their 
God? for the living to the dead? [That is, should 

a people seek unto the dead for the benefit of the 

living ?] To the law and to the testimony : if they 
speak not according to this word, it is because there 
is no light in them.' (Isa. viii. 19, 20.) These spirits 
do not speak according to the law and testimony; 
hence, if they are spirits, they are spirits of darkness. 
But it is said they do sometimes tell the truth, and, 
therefore, they cannot be spirits of darkness. No 
marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an 
angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing if his 
ministers, (or agents,) also, be transformed as the 
ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be ac- 
cording to their works. (2 Cor. xi. 14-18.) 'Now 
the spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times 
some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to se- 
ducing spirits and the doctrines of devils;' or spirits 



POSITION li.m:. 107 

teach doctrines of devils. (I Tim. iv. 1.) Now, 
il is an adversary; is one or is something! that 

the truth. These spirits, as they are called, 

ppose the law and the testimony by their teach- 

: therefore, they teach the doctrines of the devil. 

was a liar from the beginning.' ; The serpent 

said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die; for 

doth know that, in the day ye eat thereof, then 

-hall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, 

knowing good from evil/ (Gen. iii. 4, 5.) That is, 

will change your sphere of life from a lower to a 

r. In like manner do those spirits now teach, 

that man does not die, but only changes his mode of 

stence; passes from this state of life to another, 

from a lower to a higher, where he will know far 

more than he can in this sphere, where he will be as 

Is, knowing" good and evil ; where he will be so far 

advanced in knowledge, that he can teach those who 

i:i this sphere. Thus these spirits are teaching 

but the old doctrine of the serpent, which, by bc- 

brougbt death and all its train of evil upon 

our race. Though some have departed from the faith, 

let others be on their guard, taking heed to the sure 

word of prophecy, lest they also be carried away by 

the devices of Satan." 



" DOUBLE LIFE IX MAN." 

Dr. Newman, in his "Philosophy of Charming,'' 

which is but another name for mesmerism, says, ; - The 

the house of the soul. In an upper story, 

fined to an inner chamber, closely imprisoned, and 
having no communication with the exterior world 
except through the medium of the life principle, re- 



168 



THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 



sides our immortal being." And for proof of the 
double life in man, he quotes Gen. ii. 7 : " And the 
Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, 
and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life ; and 
man became a living soul." He then adds, " The 
Hebrew word in that passage for life is used in the 
plural. . It should read, ' breathed into his nostrils the 
breath of lives.' " And further, he says he believes 
the life principle " is as immortal as the soul, but only 
in consequence of its connection with the soul, to 
which it is subservient." 

This complete double being of man is a strong- 
hold of mesmerism. But how does the text prove 
the position it was quoted for ? u It should read, 
4 breathed into his nostrils the breath of lives ; ' " that 
is, at least, two lives, one of the body, and one of the 
soul. But this makes the soul as absolutely depend- 
ent on the breath for its life as it does the body. 
And when the body stops breathing, these lives must 
cease. Besides, this mode of reasoning gives a 
double life to brutes as well as to man ; for they all 
had this same breath of life, or lives. And in the 
flood, all creatures that had the same breath or spirit 
of life died, except those in the ark. (Gen. vii. 22.) 
Yet he says he believes the life principle is as immor- 
tal as the soul ; and there is the same evidence that 
brutes have the same life principle indicated by the 
same Hebrew. 

Again : the text quoted presents another difficulty 
as understood by the doctor. He says the soul is 
" closely imprisoned " in the body. We would like to 
know why Adam's soul was "closely imprisoned" 
before it was guilty, and let out in consequence of 
becoming guilty ; for, according to psychologists, 



OPPOSITION blNB. 169 

death is letting the soul out of the body ; and Adam'fl 
death was in consequence o( his sin. So, who can 
blame the poor man for Binning? God left him no 

other way to get his innoc nl ool of its close 

prison but to sin it our. And who can blame the 
devil for tempting our first parents to sin ? He did no 
more than kindly to present them with the only key 
to unlock the door of their prison. But mesmerized 
logic is difficult to be understood. 
15 



170 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 



CHAPTER XI. 

THE EXISTENCE OF EYIL SPIRITS PROVED BY MES- 
MERIC DISCLOSURES. — THE EASIEST WAY TO AC- 
COUNT FOR IT. 

The best mediums in the most perfect state of 
extasis, or mesmeric trance, admit, yea, absolutely 
teach, the existence of evil spirits, which do influence 
men to evil actions. This is a truth which may be 
relied on with the utmost confidence ; not because it 
is taught by mesmerism, but because it is taught in 
the word of God. It appears that, when, through 
wickedness, the Spirit of God is withdrawn from a 
man, the Lord suffers evil spirits to possess him. See 
1 Sam. xvi. 14: "But the spirit of the Lord departed 
from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled 
him." It w T as not until after the spirit of the Lord 
forsook him that he sought unto a woman that had a 
familiar spirit. Those who possess the Spirit of God 
have no need of "rapping spirits," and never will 
resort to them ; for the Spirit of God expressly forbids 
it. We here give a few of the many texts that 
abundantly prove the existence of such spirits. Luke 
vii. 21 ; viii. 2. Acts xix. 12, 15. Matt. xii. 43. Mark 
i. 23 ; v. 2, 8 ; vii. 25. Luke ix. 42. 

We shall proceed to show from mesmeric disclo- 
sures that these spirits do indeed act a very conspicu- 
ous part in the grand drama of fallen man. For this 
purpose w r e shall appeal to the mediums of that coun- 
try which is noted, not only as being the cradle of 



OPPOSITION Lira. 171 

mesmerism, but that in which it is most refined, and 
brought into the highest state of perfection. 

Qabagnet, to whom reference has already been 
made, put the following questions to his ecstatic, whom 

he calls Bruno, and received the following answers. 
(•• Spiritual Telegraph/' pp. 8, 9 :) — 

k - What are the other properties of the soul ? Is it 
free to do whatever it will ? " u No, the soul is influ- 
enced by other souls; it is the latter that guide it in 
magnetism, as in all its other actions." " They are, 
then, guides similar to yours? Have we all any?" 
" Yes, a good and a bad one." " Where are they 
placed ? M %k My good angel is before me, hovering on 
the road to virtue, which he points out to me, and the 
bad is on my left." " Is there any means to withdraw 
one's self from the influence of the bad one ? " " They 
are there to fulfil their mission ; it is ordained so ; 
man can scarcely avoid one more than the other." 

It is very natural for depraved mortals to seek some 
excuse for sinning. This disclosure is very congenial 
to carnal nature. The influence of the bad spirit is 
unavoidable. He has a mission to fulfil ; and it must 
be fulfilled, or the plan of the Almighty would be 
frustrated. Then sin is absolutely unavoidable. This 
is the only natural and reasonable conclusion. But 
how widely different is the teachings of the Holy 
Spirit! 

" Submit yourselves, therefore, to God. Resist the 
devil, and he will lire from you. Draw nigh to God, 
and he will draw nigh to you." (James iv. 7, 8.) This 
leaves no excuse for sinning. If we wish to withdraw 
oursckrs from the influence of evil spirits, James tells 
by the Holy Spirit, how to do it without difficulty. 
Draw nigh to God, and resist the devil. But this 
at war with the doctrine of mesmerism. 



172 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

On pages 12, 13, Bruno says to his operator, Caha- 
gnet, " I should be. more lucid were you not possessed 
by an evil spirit." " What do you mean by that ? " 
" I mean that a person with whom you have no longer 
friendly relations is the cause of your being beset by 
an evil spirit." " What power can this spirit have over 
me ? I in no wise dread him. I have never experi- 
enced any effect from him." " Ah ! such are men who 
dread nothing; but know, once for all, that your 
power is a complete nullity before the spirit; and God 
only knows what force a spirit can display." This, if 
true, is rather a hard case. A man in the flesh, an 
enemy to Cahagnet, has sent him an evil spirit whose 
influence he is unable to resist. The question is, How 
came the man who sent this spirit into Cahagnet to 
have more power to keep him there than Cahagnet 
had to send him back to the man he came from, unless 
the man who sent him had entered into a league with 
the devil to keep him there ? It is evident there must 
be a superior devil somewhere ; for, in this case, one 
devil was under the control of another. 

But we proceed : " Who, pray, thus awakens you 
at the moment I least expected it ? " " Gabriel." 
" For what reason ? " " Because he foresees that the 
evil genius could answer me in his place; and, in order 
to thwart his designs, he will awake me thus when- 
ever he deems it not fit, for the moment, to answer 
your questions." It appears, then, that even the 
heavenly angels are under the necessity of resorting 
to cunning stratagem to thwart the designs of evil 
spirits. But Christ, while on earth, had no recourse 
to stratagem ; he rebuked them, and commanded them 
to come out of the possessed ; and they obeyed. 
(Mark i. 23-26.) 



opposition mm:. 173 

31 : " You told me yesterday that spirits, in 
some form or other, introduce themselves into our 
bodies, to torment us at their pleasure, under the 
mark of disease; we are, then, the veriest slaves of 
the universe ; it is by no means to be presumed that 
we are tin: sport c^f such or such a spirit, according to 
his caprice." " What I told you yesterday is the 
fruit of my knowledge in the state I am. It is my 
conviction. I speak of what I behold with my own 

- : and I defy any somnambulist, having the light I 
have, to belie me." Pages 33, 34 : H Since a spirit can 
introduce itself into our bodies, and make us speak 
despite ourselves, can it make us act also?" "Yes; 
this question I put to you has reference to posses- 
sions : the possessed have always affirmed what you 
advance." 

The Scriptures do not justify the assertion. In the 
first place, the devil has no power to impel us to 
action, but is permitted to tempt, persuade, or entice : 
while we have the power to resist, and, by drawing 
near to (rod. may always resist him. Our Savior did 
so, and he was tempted as men are, but always re- 

ted ; and had it been possible for the devil to have 
compelled him to fall down and worship him, no 
doubt but he would have done it, instead of trying to 
hire him to do it. The habitual drunkard might just 
as well say he cannot avoid his bowl; but it were 
easy to have avoided the first intoxicating draught. 
So it is comparatively easy to avoid first evil temp- 
tations: and the more we avoid them, the more easily 
we may avoid them. 

On page 66, from another subject or medium. 
he obtained the following : "My brother-in-law i.- 
exasperated at my rancor towards him ; but he iu- 
15* 



174 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

damnified himself for it last night, by suggesting bad 
dreams. I dreamed I was cutting the throat of his 
daughter, my niece, who is in heaven, and comes to 
see me habitually. I concealed her, thus assassinated, 
under my bed. Good Heavens, how I suffered ! 
It was my brother-in-law w T ho represented to me 
those horrid images." "But the good angel beside 
us ; can he not protect us under such circumstances ? " 
" Not always ; our souls stand in need of his coun- 
sels for a multitude of other actions, of which it has 
no recollection ; for the spirit sleeps not, and our 
angel cannot always prevent by night, any more than 
by day, the power of evil spirits." 

It appears, then, that we have so many calls upon 
our guardian angel, by night and by day, that he can- 
not attend to them all, and hence he is unable always 
to protect us from evil. But there is a God who is 
always able ; had we not better trust in him than in 
the spirits of the dead ? 

On page 88 : " Still, proof exists that some spirits 
see matter, since they upset articles of furniture, 
vases, &c, convey messages and objects. Those are 
evil spirits that are in the circle surrounding the earth, 
that still hover over it and do these things." I have 
long since thought the devil was a. table tipper. Give 
the spiritual mediums rope enough, and I do not 
know but they will all hang themselves yet. This 
begins to look like it ; and this also, which we find on 
page 102 : " Can evil spirits derange our intellect on 
earth ? " " No." " Can they hallucinate us by appa- 
ritions, removal of furniture, noises, (raps, or knocks,) 
and a thousand other things of this kind ? " " They 
can do so only in the condition wherein you find 
yourself impressible; but most frequently these hal- 



OPPOSITION link. 175 

luci nations are attributed to material persons of a 
very evil influence, who, by their property, or those 
which they obtain through pacts formed with spirits 
thai possess this affection, take delight in deranging 
our ideas and tormenting us: the influence of poison 
has much to do with it." " I did not believe in such 
pacts." " They exist, but nought is more displeasing 
to God." 

We have a proverb — "Set a rogue to catch a 
u\" And why not set a devil to catch a devil ? 
The French mediums pretend to be further advanced 
in spiritual disclosures than the American, and to 
have passed beyond the medium state to the ecstatic, 
by which they enter and leave heaven with about the 
same ease and facility that a gentleman enters and 
leaves his parlor. And from their superior facilities 
of obtaining spiritual manifestations, they have ascer- 
tained that the spiritual rappings, table tippings, &c, 
together with the disclosures made through these 
ns, are all the work of evil spirits, got up by men 
forming pacts or leagues with devils. And these 
communications are made by " persons of a very evil 
influence,'' through such pacts. Cahagnet thus con- 
tinues : " What do you think of talismans ? " " There 
are very good ones, but we must deserve them ; it is 
the gift of God." " Could you give me the design of 
a good one?" "I cannot; but there is one worth 
them all — placing ourselves under the divine protec- 
tion, with purity of heart; no other is equal to this/' 

We ought to be willing to receive truth, let it come 
from whatever source it may, especially when it har- 
monizes with the word of God. The devil himself 
Chris: to be the Holy One of God. 
That is the truth, but none the more so for his 



176 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

confession ; but it proves that a liar can speak the 
truth occasionally. 

So of spiritual disclosures : provided they are made 
by wicked spirits, we might expect as a matter of 
policy, now and then, some glimmerings of truth ; 
and here is one concerning talismans : " There is one 
worth them all — placing ourselves under the divine 
protection, with purity of heart; no other is equal to 
this." Let the reader try it. We will warrant him 
it will never fail. Every word of God is pure. He 
is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. 
(Prov. xxx. 5.) " Trust in the Lord and do good ; so 
shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be 
fed. Delight thyself also in the Lord, and he shall 
give thee the desires of thine heart." (Ps. xxxvii. 3, 4.) 

Further evidence of the existence and remarkable 
power of evil spirits is given in the second volume of 
the " Celestial Telegraph," page 151 : — 

" We borrow from the journal La Republique, of 
February 3, 1849, a recital of this nature, extracted 
from the Gazette des Tribunaux : — 

" ' One of the most singular facts, a fact repro- 
ducing itself every night for the last three weeks, and 
baffling all imaginable plans that have been adopted 
to discover the cause of it, sets in commotion the 
whole of the populous quarter of the Montagne 
Sainte Genevieve, the Sorbonne, and the Place Saint 
Michel. The double inquiry, judicious and adminis- 
trative, which has been going on for some days past, 
verifies, in accordance with public clamor, the follow- 
ing statement : — 

" ' In the work of demolition commenced for the 
opening of a new street which is to join the Sorbonne 
to the Pantheon, and the Ecole de Droit, traversing 






OPPOSITION i.i < 177 

the Rue dea Ghrea up to the old church which has 

ively been used as a school and barracks, at 

the extremity of a piece of ground where once stood 

a public ball room, is a wood and charcoal yard, 

bounded by a dwelling house, oik 4 story high, with 
lofts. It is this house, standing at a certain distance 
from the street, and separated from the adjoining 
buildings now in course of demolition by the large 

vations of the old enclosure wall of Paris con- 
structed under Philippe Auguste, laid open by the 
works, which every evening and all night is assailed 
by a shower of projectiles, which, from their size, and 
the violence with which they are hurled, produce such 
havoc, that the windows are smashed, the doors 
broken open, altogether presenting the appearance of 
a place that has been attacked by the catapula, or 
grape shot. 

■• - Whence come these projectiles, consisting of 
paving stones, fragments of ruins, huge blocks, which, 
considering their weight and the distance they come 
from, evidently could not be hurled by the hand of 
man? This is what it has been impossible to find 
out. In vain has been exercised, under the personal 
direction of the commissary of police and able agents, 

rvcillance, by day and night. In vain have been 
let loose every night, in the surrounding enclosures, 

•h dogs. Nothing has been able to explain the 
phenomenon, which, in their credulity, the people at- 
tribute to mysterious causes. The projectiles have 
continued showering down witli a crash on the house, 
hurled at a great height above the heads of those 
placed on the lookout, even on the roofs of the neigh- 
boring houses, apparently coming from a great dis- 
tance, and reaching their object with a precision in 



178 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

some sort mathematical, not one appearing to deviate 
in its parabolic course from the object invariably 
aimed at. 

K ' We will not go into more ample details respect- 
ing these facts, which, no doubt, (thanks to the solici- 
tude it has awakened,) will soon be accounted for. 
Already the inquiry extends over whatsoever could 
attach, in this object, to the explanation of the adage, 
Cui prodest is auctor. Nevertheless, we will remark 
that, in circumstances somewhat analogous, and 
which equally created a certain sensation in Paris, 
when, for instance, a shower of small pieces of money 
attracted every evening the simpletons of Paris to 
the Rue de Montesquieu, or when all the bells of a 
house in Rue de Malte were set going by an invisible 
hand, it was impossible to succeed in any discovery 
— to find an explanation, a first cause, whatever it 
might be. Let us hope that, this time, we shall arrive 
at a more precise result.' 

" The Republique of the 4th of February con- 
tinues: 'The Gazette des Tribunaux still speaks of 
the famous war machine, so formidable, and above 
all so mysterious, which sets in commotion the in- 
habitants of the quarter Saint Jaques.' 

" To-day this paper says, ' The singular fact of 
throwing projectiles against the house of a dealer in 
wood and charcoal, Rue Nueva de Cluny, near the 
Place du Pantheon, has continued being reproduced 
up to this very day, despite the incessant surveillance 
exercised on the very spot. 

" ' At eleven o'clock, although agents were stationed 
at all the adjacent points, an enormous stone struck 
against the door (barricaded) of the house. At three 
o'clock, the chief, ad interim, of the safety service, 



OPPOSITION LINE* 179 

and five or NX of his principal subordinates, being 
busily engaged in making inquiries concerning differ- 
ent circumstances of the occupiers of the house, an 
immense rough stone fell shivering at their feet, like 
the bursting of a bomb.' 

" Without commenting on this singular affair, we 
hasten to an extract of a letter from Colonel Roger to 
Cahagnet: l Before returning to Paris, and while I 
was still residing at Nantes, those who received me 
at a later period into the bosom of their society, 

which was presided over by M. Pi , a gentleman 

of extraordinary scientific attainments, (it was he who 

magnetized Ad ,) assembled one evening at M. 

Pi 's to take part in a ceremony relative to occult 

pursuits. M. Pi sent Ad to sleep, and each 

member sat down on the floor, each having at his 
feet, and right in front of him, a lamp, the wick of 

which was burning in alcohol. M. Pi having 

first called down the blessing of God on those present, 
the ceremony commenced. Scarcely, however, had it 
begun, than shrill cries, immoderate laughter, and hor- 
rible hissing resounded in the room. The lamps were 
quickly extinguished, and, on all sides, fell pieces of 
old iron, bars of iron, &e. ; but all these projectiles 
lodged on the edge of the circle, without striking any 

one. Forthwith M. Pi , armed with his talisman, 

drove out, in the name of God, these evil spirits, who 
decamped, leaving us their projectiles. This fact 
responds in the affirmative to the question you ad- 
dress to Swedenborg, to inquire whether evil spirits 
could create disorder in a room by displacing and up- 
nig the furniture. Swedenborg affirmed that they 
could do so; and I have just given you a proof of the 
truth of this assertion.' " 



180 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

It is remarkable that, in France, mediums all agree 
that the spirits which tip tables and move furniture, 
are all evil spirits; while here, in the United States, 
they are by medium disclosures said to be good spirits. 
" When doctors disagree, who shall decide " ? 

It appears that the best American spirits are noth- 
ing but French devils, such as stone buildings to 
pieces, and hurl old iron and iron bars at people's 
heads, tip tables, and set chairs to dancing. Now, 
since these spirits pretending to be good are con- 
demning one another, it is certain we stand in need 
of one of a higher order to teach us which is right. 
Such a Spirit has taught us, in the word of God, that 
it is a great sin to seek unto those who pretend to 
have intercourse with the spirits of the dead. 

We give an extract from the same writer of a more 

accommodating spirit therein described : " M. Rev , 

Sen., and myself, were taking a walk on the high 
road of a town in Brittany. On entering the hotel, 

M. Rev perceived that he had lost his gold seal, 

which was of great value. After dinner, he sent 

Ad to sleep, saying to her, ' Call such a spirit ; 

beg him, and order him, if need be, to go and look 
for my seal among a heap of stones by the seaside, 
at a league's distance from here.' The command 
was scarcely given, when the spirit delivered the seal 

to Ad , who said to M. Rev , ' Thank the 

spirit, and dismiss him.' " This is doing the thing in 
a business manner. It w r ould save the expense of 
board and wages to employ such spirits for waiters, 
servants, &c, instead of those visible forms of liesh 
and blood. We give the contents of another letter 
to Cahagnet, which still shows how much further the 



OPPOSITION LINE. 181 

French meemeriaers arc advanced than the Amer- 
ican : — 

Monsieur: From the appeal you make in your 
first volume of the " Secrets of 1he Life to come re- 
vealed n to persons who may have any facts to com- 
municate to you for insertion in the second volume 
you intend publishing, I beg to respond to this invi- 
tation in the interest, be it understood, of the occult 
sciences, and in order to prove to you that I have 
been in no wise astonished at the contents of your 
book, which I have read with great pleasure. For- 
merly a theatrical artist, I devoted myself passion- 
ately to the study of cabalism, as offering, by its 
studious meditations, a counterpoise to the lighter 
studies of the theatre. I made acquaintance with a 
society, (of madmen, the world says ; of savans, I 
reply,) into which I was admitted, not without some 
difficulty. To tell you all that took place in this so- 
ciety all the time I was a member of it, would be to 
undertake a work in three volumes. I will cite one 
fact out of a thousand similar ones, which corresponds 
with what your somnambulist (Binet) says relative to 
the strength and power of spirits: — 

The chief of our circle possessed a small, strong 
box, about a foot long, and ten inches wide, and six 
in depth, in which he secured very valuable articles. 
One day it was stolen from him. He was in gi >a1 
distress, when he sent to Bleep a young man whom 
we ordinarily employed at our sittings. He ques- 
tioned him as to the disappearance of the box, and 
ged him to find it. He went further; he ordered 
the spirit who habitually came at our call to bring 
16 



182 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

back to him the box. The somnambulist was lying 
on the bed, which was at the farther end of the apart- 
ment, in a complete state of catalepsy. I was in the 
middle of the room with this gentleman, and two 
other gentlemen of the name of Revole — father and 
son. The clairvoyant issued a command — told us 
to open the window, which I did instantly, and M. 
Picolet beheld arriving the precious box, which he 
received in his hands at the moment I was going to 
take it myself. We saw nothing else, and were no 
more surprised at 1 his conveyance than we were at all 
that took place daily before our eyes. Yes, Monsieur, 
a spirit can convey objects. Write this in my name ; 
say, moreover, that I am seventy-eight years old, and 
that I should not, at such an age, wish to be a mad- 
man, or to impose on my fellow-men. I assure you 
of this in the presence of the divine Power, whom I 
should dread offending, if I fabricated such a false- 
hood. 

I have the honor to be, Monsieurs, &c, 

BORDE. 
24 Rue Saint Laurent, Belleville. 

This is mesmerism worth talking about, and which 
leaves American mesmerism so far in the rear that 
it is scarcely worth mentioning. Why, our Yankee 
mesmerizers have scarcely learned their alphabet. 
When they get so as to produce such cases by the 
thousand, and think no more of them than of any 
ordinary daily occurrences, they will be ashamed of a 
little rapping, table tipping, &c, and will then see 
that they are now led by a bungling set of clownish 
spirits. 



opposition LINK. 1S3 



-THE EASIEST WAY TO ACCOUNT FOR IT." 

It is said that the so called spiritual phenomenon is 
the work of the devil; it is tauntingly replied by the 
advocates of spiritualism that it is through ignorance 
and superstition, and saves the trouble of thinking, 
and is the easiest way for the ignorant to account for 
it; and that it is the usual charge brought against 
any thing wonderful and not generally understood, 
such as the facility with which Faust multiplied 
books by type was by the aid of the devil. And 
this mode of accounting for the wonderful tends to 
envelop in mystery and check the progress of sci- 
ence. But it is evident this charge lies with equal 
weight against those who prefer it. They say it is 
the work of spirits ; and those against whom it is 
preferred say it is the work of evil spirits, or devils. 
Now, which is the easier way of accounting for it? 
or which betrays the more ignorance or credulity, or 
which requires the less thinking ? There are many 
ways by which it is said that spirits do these things; 
and why not the devil do them in the same way ? If 
the existence of the devil be denied, the existence of 
the spirits of the dead must be; for nought can be 
appealed to, to prove the existence of departed spirits, 
that will not abundantly prove the existence of the 
devil. For every evidence that can be given of the 
existence of departed spirits, (aside from the pretended 
spirits themselves,) the author holds himself in read- 
iness to give ten of the existence of a devil or devils. 



184 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 



CHAPTER XII. 

ORIGIN OP MESMERISM. —MEDIUMS AMONG THE NORTH 
AMERICAN INDIANS.— MESMERISM KNOWN TO NAA- 

MAN. 

Dr. Newman, in his " Philosophy of Charming," 
says, " Adam was perfectly aware of the power of 
fascination, together with clairvoyance and those 
other mysteries that astonish so much the people of 
the present day." His argument in support of it 
appears to be drawn from the eccentric flights of John 
Bunyan in describing his city of Mansoul; that 
while our first parents remained obedient to their 
Maker they held familiar converse with superior 
beings, through mesmerism, clairvoyance, &c, and 
that they lost that faculty by swearing allegiance to 
Diabolus, after which the faculty was unknown, ex- 
cept upon extraordinary occasions, by which it is 
evident he means the subsequent prophets. Admit 
this, and it follows that man was created in a clair- 
voyant state, or, in the Scripture term, the prophetic 
state ; and as he held this state as long as he was 
obedient to God, and lost it in consequence of dis- 
obedience, it follows that he can regain it only by 
returning to his former primal, obedient state. But 
this is not a fact with regard to our present clairvoy- 
ants and mediums. It is not pretended that holiness 
of heart is requisite to become a medium ; on the 
contrary, the wicked are good mediums. 

Again: the same author admits that the serpent 
practises the same art or power in charming his prey. 



OPPOSITION LINK. 185 

Now, what did he do to our first parents, to induce 
them to "swear allegiance to Diabolns," but to mes- 
merize or charm them. If he mesmerized them, they 
were not ill a mesmeric state before; and if they were 
created in a mesmeric state, the serpent ^-mesmer- 
ized them. Yet the same author tells us, on page 28, 
that Satan discovered the mode of mesmerism, or 
rather disclosed to man the fact that such a power 
existed. We give his own words, as follows: "I 
think the requisite knowledge was imparted by Satan 
himself, either in a direct manner, or by prompting 
the mind to a series of experiments that led to the 
discovery. He did this to increase his influence, so 
that a chosen few, on whom he could depend, might 
guide the many in the ways of destruction. Proof 
of this, I think, can be found in the fact naturally 
abhorrent to humanity, (for man has been defined to 
be a religious animal,) that all barbarous nations pay 
more homage to the spirit of evil than they do to the 
spirit of good; and, as a matter of course, their rites 
of worship are of the most revolting and bloodthirsty 
descriptions — extreme licentiousness characterizing 
their devotions, as well as suspension by hooks, &c, 
and murder of infants and adults." 

If Satan imparted the knowledge of its existence, 
Adam could have had no knowledge of it until his 
interview with the serpent; and the prophets of old, 
being mediums, owed their prophetic faculty to the 
discovery of Satan himself. This is the most un- 
lucky game he ever played; for the old prophets 
every where condemn him, and those who have any 
thing to do with him or his discoveries. We presume 
he li i the evil of it, and has become convinced 

of his own folly, and has since withheld the discovery 
16* 



166 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

from good and honest men, and imparted it to 
men of another sort, who never upbraid him for his 
wickedness. 

This appears almost the unavoidable conclusion, 
since the advocates of mesmerism contend that the 
prophets were under the influence of mesmerism ; but 
it is evident they were not under it when not obedi- 
ent to God. This appears evident in the case of 
Saul : though not called a prophet, yet, while he was 
doing the will of God, the Lord answered him when 
he inquired of him. But when he became so wicked 
that the Lord answered him not, " neither by dreams, 
nor by Urim, nor by the prophets/' he had recourse to 
mesmerism — to the medium of Endor. Now, noth- 
ing can be more evident than that the prophets were 
not under the same influence that the witch was ; for, 
had they been, they would have answered Saul as 
well as she. But Samuel said to Saul, " Why hast 
thou disquieted me to bring me up ? And Saul 
answered, I am sore distressed ; for the Philistines 
make war against me, and God is departed from me, 
and answereth me no more, neither by prophets nor 
by dreams ; therefore I have called thee, that thou 
mayest make known unto me what I shall do. Then 
said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, 
seeing the Lord is departed from thee, and is become 
thine enemy ? " (1 Sam. xxviii. 15, 16.) 

Here it is evident Samuel intended to represent to 
Saul it was wrong for him even to seek unto a 
prophet through a medium, because God had de- 
parted from him, which, had it not been so, the 
prophet might have answered him. Now, in what- 
ever light we consider this account, whether Samuel 
really appeared to the witch or not. one thing is clear: 



opposition blffft* 187 

it shows the popular opinion of that age ; that is, that 
it was b wicked thing to resort to a medium, and only 
necessary as a last resort, when the Spirit of God is 
withdrawn from one who is abandoned to wickedness 
and on the eve of destruction. In either case, it 
plainly proves that, at that age, the prophets and 
mediums, as they are now called, were two very 
different characters. One was approved of God, and 
the other condemned. 

Dr. Newman further remarks, " It may be well to 
mention, in this connection, the fact that savage 
nations, generally, practise fascination. They rub or 
pat one another when fatigued, and it refreshes. The 
wife of one of the Sandwich Island missionaries, on 
a visit to this country some years ago, exclaimed, on 
returning from a long and tiresome walk which had 
completely exhausted her strength, c If I was home, 
the native women, by patting me, would soon give me 
complete relief from this weariness, and make me feel 
as lively as ever.' The rites and gestures of savage 
magicians, the medicine men of the wilds, over their 
patients, which so much alarm travellers, are nothing 
more than fascinating passes to cure disease — a 
method, too, that very generally succeeds." John W. 
Jewett represents this practice as being common 
among the Indians of Nootka Sound. It was also 
known to the Sacs and Foxes, among which there 
were some excellent clairvoyants. It must have been 
known, too, to the Indians farther south. Many 
years since, a company of fur traders proceeded far 
up the country of the Red River, when, to facilitate 
business, two of them parted from their companions, 
and arrived at the head of a lake to await the arrival 
of those behind, who were expected to come up the 



188 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

lake in a canoe. But day after day passed, and they 
heard nothing from them. Growing alarmed for their 
safety, the chief of the tribe told them he had a man 
who would tell them all about their companions. The 
man was at length sent for, and, being laid upon a 
buffalo skin, was rubbed from head to foot, and then 
rolled up in the skin. After a while he seemed to 
revive, and, being unrolled, said he had not been in- 
formed when the other traders would arrive ; but 
to-morrow, about this time, a canoe would be seen 
coming up the lake, with two Indians in it, and they 
would tell all about the other traders. This proved 
to be true, upon which the traders were utterly aston- 
ished. But at the present time, no one can doubt 
this being a fair specimen of mesmerism, attended 
with clairvoyance. Speaking of the heathen magi, 
Dr. Newman remarks, " Some of them possessed this 
power in so extraordinary a degree, and had their fame 
so widely extended, as to be deified after death ; having 
idol statues shaped in their likeness, to which divine 
honors were paid, the qualities for which they were 
thus honored being symbolized by additional arms. 
Proofs of this may be seen at the present day in the 
images of the gods of India. Vichenow, Chivan, 
Parchivan, Ravenna, and many others, have four, six, 
and twelve arms, all presenting the hands open, with 
the palms inclining downwards, the fingers being in 
the most approved fascinating positions of the present 
day." 

Antony Pluche thus describes the process of ancient 
Egyptian magnetism, as practised upwards of three 
thousand years ago : " A patient is stretched upon a 
couch, while a large annbis is painted, in the act of 
making passes over him, with one hand raised above 



OPPOSITION LINE. 189 

his head, and the other placed upon his breast. And 
(VIsus, a philosopher who lived in the first century 
alter Christ, speaks of a physician of ancient Chaldea, 
who soothed the ravings of the insane by manipula- 
tions ; and adds, that, when continued for a long time, 
produced sleep." 

That mesmerism was known to the ancients, appears 
also from the Scriptures. We refer the reader to the 
case of Naaman, the leper. (2 Kings v.) 

When Elisha, the man of God, commanded him to 
go and wash seven times in the River Jordan, he was 
wrotb, and said, "Behold, I thought he will surely 
come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of 
the Lord his God, and strike his hands (move his 
hands up and down, margin) over the place, and 
recover the leper." 

Naaman was certainly acquainted with the practice 
of curing diseases by manipulations (moving the 
hands up and down) as then practised by the hea- 
then, and took Elisha to be some great manipulator, 
or, as we should say at the present time, a great mes- 
merizer. But when he saw the prophet did not work 
by such means as he expected, neither even come out 
to meet him, he felt that his dignity was wounded, and 
he turned away in a rage. But being persuaded by 
his servant, he went and washed, and was cleansed of 
his leprosy, and returned to the man of God, and 
acknowledged the God of Israel, and o fie red to pay 
the prophet. This the prophet refused, for those who 
work a miracle by the power of the God of Israel 
never charge any thing for it, but ascribe the honor 
and the power unto God, and not to electricity or 
mesmerism. There is no want of evidence that this 



190 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

power was known in former times. We give the fol- 
lowing from William E. Blakeney : — 

" We have also more exhibitions of this power de- 
veloped under the character of an angel of light. It 
will be recollected that, in the year 1688, there were 
many persons who assumed the name of i French 
prophets,' and professed a divine inspiration ; and, 
like all of their predecessors, as well as successors, 
they claimed the power or gift of healing, of speaking 
with tongues, of the discerning of spirits, which was 
administered by the laying on of hands and willing 
it to be done. These prophets not only had power 
over demons, but also of casting out evil spirits. 
They also had their ' clairvoyance,' although called 
by a different name. Hence the 'clairvoyant' state 
with them was called c the trance,' in which condition 
the mind was said to expand and take its flight to 
the 'celestial regions;' then, if put in communi- 
cation with another person, would describe precisely 
as in mesmerism. In the year 1706, a number of 
these prophets sailed to England, and commenced 
their mysterious exhibitions there. The influence 
which they exerted became irresistible, and the 
( magic charm ' soon won over some three or four 
hundred in and about London." 

We have also another demonstration of this power 
under the character of divinity. I refer to the cel- 
ebrated Ann Lee, the last false Christ who has flour- 
ished. She succeeded in deluding thousands, and 
supported her claims to Messiahship by performing 
astonishing miracles, and speaking in unknown 
tongues. 

Now, that these different characters did perform 
feats of a precise similar nature to those of mesmer- 



OPPOSITION LINK. 191 

ism, is an admitted fact. Their claims wore similar, 
and, indeed, perfectly parallel ; and the same power 
which sustained and gave life to the one, also pre- 
sided over the other. And if their phenomena were 
the result of " science," the advocates of mesmerism 
will in justice claim the same ; but if they were, in 
fact, " false Christs," laboring under a satanic influ- 
ence, the doctrine of mesmerism should be accounted 
for on the same principles. To the same influence 
may be referred u the visions of Ellen White." She 
represents herself as going into the state of trance, 
nearly in the same manner as the French mediums, in 
what is called, in mesmerism, the state of ecstasy. 
Both pretend to make disclosures through spiritual 
and angelic agencies. The mediums call these "guar- 
dian spirits," and Ellen calls them her "attending 
angels." In one of her clairvoyant excursions, she 
saw Enoch on a social visit to the planet Saturn. 

Notwithstanding her visions are in many respects 
discordant to the word of God, yet, like the French 
prophets and those of Ann Lee, she is drawing hun- 
dreds into her mesmeric delusions. But since her 
religion does not admit of but one hundred and forty- 
four thousand disciples, she will not be the founder of 
a very numerous and popular sect. 

In another vision, she was admitted into the " holy 
of holies," (where it is not lawful for any man to 
enter but the high priest,) and there saw the two 
tables of stone, on which were written the ten com- 
mandments, the fourth of which shone with more 
glory than all the others. 

Let us try this vision by the; word of God. Matt 
xxii. 37, "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the 
Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy 



192 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and 
great commandment. And the second is like unlo it, 
Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these 
two hang all the law and the prophets." Our Savior 
attaches the most glory and importance to the first 
and second commandments instead of the fourth. 
The followers of Ellen make the keeping of the 
seventh day the end of the law and seal of the living 
God ; while the word of God makes the end of the 
commandment "charity out of a pure heart;" and 
the seal of the living God the Holy Spirit of promise, 
or Holy Spirit of God. (Eph. i. 13 ; iv. 30. 1 Tim. 
i. 5-7.) Now, the end of the commandment is char- 
ity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, 
and of faith unfeigned, from which some, having 
swerved, have turned aside unto vain jangling, de- 
siring to be teachers of the law; understanding 
neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm. 

A remarkable instance of the fulfilment of Scrip- 
ture is found in this text, in the believers of these 
visions. They are vain janglers, and set themselves 
up as teachers of the law, understanding neither 
what they say, nor whereof they affirm ; preaching a 
new gospel, said to be given to the third angel, but un- 
known to Paul, who says, " But though we, or an angel 
from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than 
that ye have received, let him be accursed." The end 
of all mesmeric revelation appears to be " a new doc- 
trine ; " " a new light ; " some other way to be saved 
than by that revealed in the Scriptures. Those who 
have but little regard for the holy religion of Christ 
are, by mesmeric disclosures, easily persuaded to 
abandon all forms of godliness ; while others, having 
more regard for it, are as easily persuaded to adopt 



MVOMTIOM LINE. \ ( M 

th;it form of godliness which most denies the power 

thereof. 

Mesmerism, as we have seen, is a strange delusion. 
It accommodates itself to every one's preferred opin- 
ions, and proves every one's theory. So the man who 
is irreligious is easily deceived by the most flagrant 
irreligious disclosures: while he who is religious is as 

iy deceived by a false religion. So, in one or 
two ways, the devil is very successful in leading peo- 
ple away from truth and God, either directly in lead- 
ing them to discard all religion, or zealously to em- 
brace a false one ; either answers his purpose as well 
as the other, and both are effected by the almighty 

, o( mesmerism or spiritual disclosures. 
But since we are so easily led into the delusion, the 
question may be asked. How are we to avoid it? 
"Submit yourselves, therefore, to God. Resist the 
devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, 
and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, 
ye sinners, and purify your hearts, ye double minded." 
(James iv. 7, 8.) We do not sufliciently resist the 
devil. But, says one, How are we to know what is 
of the devil? " Draw nigh to God, and he will draw 
nigh to you." Our error lies in not living near to 
God. We first withdraw ourselves from him ; he 
then forsakes us, as he did Saul, and we are left, 
through evil influences, to seek a mew revelation, a 
new doctrine, a new ,k seal of the living God," and, 
finally, a new plan of salvation. The moment a man 
gives heed to any revelation except the Scriptures, 
that moment he gives evidence* of having fallen from 
grace, (if he ever had any to fall from,) and is on the 
road to ruin. Paul says to Timothy, " All Scripture 
given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for 
17 



194 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in 
righteousness : that the man of God may be perfect, 
thoroughly furnished unto all good works." (2 Tim. 
iii. 16, 17.) 

To listen to any other revelation is saying, in the 
heart, the Scripture is not sufficient to furnish us unto 
all good works, and with a forbidden double minded- 
ness to seek unto both God and man " for doctrine, 
for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteous- 
ness." 

It is not for any good work that we need a rev- 
elation of J. Davis or Ellen White ; for the Scripture 
is a sufficient furniture for the man of God, that he 
may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good 
works. But it may be asked, Shall we not listen to 
the spirit as well as to the word ? The word and the 
spirit can no more be divided than the " living child ; " 
they are inseparably united. But, " Beloved, believe 
not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are 
of God ; because many false prophets (lying spirits) 
have gone out into the world." (1 John iv. 1.) " To 
the law and to the testimony : if they speak not 
according to this word, it is because there is no light 
in them." 

The root of most false doctrines is rejecting the 
word of God, and cleaving to the spirit alone ; thus 
putting asunder what God has joined together, where- 
by we insult God, and provoke him to withdraw his 
Holy Spirit, and leave us to follow the lying spirits 
which have gone out into the world. 



OPPOSITION LINE. 195 



CHAPTER XIII. 

THE NEW AGENT.— OD FORCE, OR MUNDANE AGEN- 
CY. — DEDUCTIONS. 

We shall speak of this agent as we find it in " The 
Philosophy of Mysterious Rappings." Not intending 
a formal review of that interesting work, we shall 
merely glance at the underpinning of the author's 
superstructure, regretting, at the same time, that an 
opportunity does not present itself for a more extended 
investigation, as that work did not come to hand 
until this had gone to the Stereotype Foundry. 

Dr. Rogers, the author of the work referred to, 
seems to have departed a little from the popular 
opinion concerning the real difference between man 
and the lower order of animals. A still further de- 
parture would be in greater harmony with facts — the 
true principles of sound philosophy and divine rev- 
elation. He seems to admit that the latter have a 
kind of spirituality in common with the former. If 
so, we question whether he has found the true differ- 
ence in their spiritualities ; or rather, whether he has 
found what true spiritualism is v (See pp. 131-133.) 

Volumes have been written, pretending to show the 
nature of man and his spiritual relation to God, by 
writers who either know but little of the subject, or 
else have become wise above what is written ; and 
since this seems to be a chief corner stone in almost 
every mesmeric building, we cannot do better than to 
give in this place the language of the wise man 



196 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

concerning the difference between man and beast. 
Eccl. iii. 18-21, " I said in mine heart concerning the 
estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest 
them, and that they might see that they themselves 
are beasts." Or, as the original is, " I said in my 
heart concerning the sons of (anosheem) mortals, that 
God would (borah) search them, and show to them 
that they are like the beasts." 

" For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth 
beasts ; even one thing befalleth them : as the one 
dieth, so dieth the other ; yea, they have all one 
(ruah, spirit) breath ; so that a man hath no preem- 
inence above a beast ; for all is vanity. All go unto 
one place ; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust 
again. Who knoweth the (ruah) spirit of man that 
goeth upward, and the (ruah) spirit of the beast that 
goeth downward to the earth ? " Notice that man 
and beast both possess the same ruah; and Solomon 
says, " That which befalleth the sons of men befall- 
eth beasts;" and the author referred to, in his in- 
troduction (forty-seventh paragraph) says, " That cer- 
tain animals below man have been known to be 
clairvoyant." So far he agrees with the wise man. 
But the question is, Is clairvoyance and divine rev- 
elation one and the same thing? If so, beasts have 
their prophets among them as well as men. If they 
have not, revelation is from one source, and clairvoy- 
ance from another ; and if divine revelation is a gen- 
uine coin from the mint of heaven, clairvoyance must 
be a counterfeit ; or, in other words, if one is from a 
holy being, the other is from an unholy being. We 
see no way to avoid this conclusion ; but as we shall 
have occasion, before closing this chapter, to refer to 
this part of the subject again, we here introduce his 



OPPOSITION LINE. 197 

own language, commencing on p;ige 26 of his 
work : — 

• 10. We have now arrived at a point of grand 
importance to be recognized throughout this work, 
namely, that whatever external physical agent ran 
be made to act upon the Internal hitman organism, will 

MODIFY THE ACTION, CONSEQUENTLY THE PHENOMENA, 
OF THE PSYCHOLOGICAL AGENT. 

" This proposition, startling as it may appear at 
first view, is, nevertheless, susceptible of the strongest 
demonstration. The ease of every invalid exemplifies 
it. The pathogenetic action of nearly every drug in 
nature proves it. 

" 41. It follows, therefore, from what has already 
been shown, that, whenever the normal condition of 
the organism is changed, so as to allow of the influx 
of agencies from the external world, the psychological 
agent will become more or less modified in its action, 
and removed from its normal standard. 

" For example : innumerable invalids are hopeful 
or sad, irascible or kindly affectioned, according to the 
dynamic condition of external bodies and the sur- 
rounding atmosphere. This susceptibility of the 
psychological agent to modifying influences is not 
only seen with regard to the action of the general 
dynamics of the earth, but with regard to the specific 
psychological influence of surrounding persons. 

"42. Nay, this influence or agency on the one 
hand, and susceptible passivenrss on the other, are 
great, in some instances, as to produce a total chat 
in the sense of personal identity; so that individ- 
uals have been known to identify themselves with the 
Deity, with Christ, a toad, a stone. 

" 43. It is a serious question here, if that is an 
17* 



198 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

immortal nature which is so susceptible of vital change, 
which can lose so readily its own sense of identity for 
that of another. 

" We have now arrived at that question which, of 
all others, is the most important to man, and which 
will frequently be brought to view in the body of this 
work. 

" 44. Man presents to himself two classes of phe- 
nomena : first, those which he determines as a self- 
conscious, self-reasoning, self-governing agent; sec- 
ond, those which he does not determine, and are 
without his own control ; which, moreover, he finds 
himself, under certain circumstances, forced to develop 
even against his w^ill and the dictates of his reason. 

" Now, here are either two distinct agencies at 
work, totally unlike one another, and in. direct oppo- 
sition, or the two opposite classes of phenomena are 
the action of the same agent in direct opposition to 
itself. To assume the latter, may serve to sustain the 
false philosophy which has obtained for centuries; 
but this w T ill make us no wiser in regard to ourselves. 

"45. It is not to be wondered at that man has 
always been regarded as an anomalous being, — the 
only enigma of nature, — with regard to whom more 
theories have been written than of all the rest of 
creation beside, but without the addition of scarcely a 
ray of light in a century. 

"46. Man has always confounded his animal with 
his highest nature; while, at the same time, he has 
looked upon the animal as entirely destitute of a 
spirituality. Some persons, however, have found 
themselves forced to regard some animals as possess- 
ing immortal spirits, inasmuch as they find them 



OPPOSITION LINK. 199 

possessed of certain powers which they regard in 
them selves as spiritual. Thus they reason: — 

M All thinking beings are spiritual beings. 

"Certain animals, in common with man, are think- 
ing beings; such animals are, then, spiritual, in com- 
mon with man. Again: — 

17. All beings who possess the powers of clair- 
voyance must be spiritual beings; for clairvoyant power 
is, beyond all doubt, spiritual. 

" Now, certain animals below man have been 
known to be clairvoyant. The evidence of this is 
indubitable. 

W Such, therefore, must be spiritual animals. Once 
again let ns add, — 

" 48. " All beings that have affection must be spir- 
itual, because affection is a spiritual power. 

a All animals have more or less affection ; therefore, 
all animals are more or less spiritual. Finally, — 

"49. The psychological nature is spiritual and 
immortal. It is in itself indestructible. All animals 
have psychological natures in common with man; 
therefore, all the souls of animals, in common with 
the souls of men, are spiritual and immortal. 

" 50. Now, if the major premises in these syllogisms 
are just, the minors and conclusions are not to be 
denied, however much they may offend our pride or 
taste. Bears and bugs, lions and lizards, wolves and 
weevils, sea monsters and land serpents, all have 
psychological natures, or sympathetic susceptibilities. 
To escape these absurdities, flight is made to theory 
again, and it is supposed that the psychological na- 
ture which man possesses in common with the animal 
is, in some way. made spiritual and immortal; while 
that of the animal is left to perish with the death of 



200 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

the body. But we say at once, Away with the whole 
of this miserable theorizing upon imaginary differ- 
ences, and come unhesitatingly, confidingly, to the 
interrogation of nature. 

"51. Ask yourself wherein you are different from a 
mere animal. To see the grand difference, notice that 
the psychological nature of the animal is controlled by 
outward objects acting upon internal senses and pro- 
pensities ; that it has no self-judging, self-deciding, 
self-governing, self-conscious personal identity. But 
be cautious how you confound this with the psy- 
chological. Man has both ; the animal has but one. 
The former* makes man man; the latter f makes him 
an animal. The former makes him a governor of 
himself; the latter makes him an automaton — the 
tool of any sensuous influence that may preponderate 
at the time. The former makes man a self-conscious, 
accountable being; the latter, an irresponsible ma- 
chine. When the former is suspended in its action 
by an abnormal condition of the brain, the latter may 
be made to assume any sense of identity, from that 
of the supreme Divinity to that of a toad ; from that 
of the archangel Gabriel to that of a shilling bit; 
whereas, the former can never be made to change its 
own sense of personal identity for that of another. It 
may be suspended in its action, as in insanity, sleep, 
mesmeric trance, pathetism, &c. ; but it can never be 
made to feel that it is other than itself 

" It is, indeed, the active agent in man, and gives 
the consciousness of power; whereas the latter is the 

* That is, the self-judging, self- deciding, self-conscious, personal 
identity. 

t'That is, the psychological, controllable by outward mundane 
influences. 



OPPOSITION LINE. 201 

passive instrument of the dictates of the higher nature, 
or of the unnumbered iiillii- the outer sen-nous 

world. 

M By the former he is to claim conscious alliance with 
the Divinity : lor it i- an image, nay, a child, of the 
all-controlling Spirit. For as the ever-blessed God is 
the ever-active, ever-developing energy of the nnivi 

[-conscious will and reason of man the only 
lawful governor of the human sphere. 

u Hence it is the centre of highest agency on earth 
under Deity. From this go forth the mandates that 
control the wild forces of nature and subdue the earth ; 
whereas the latter is a medium of communication be- 
lt the former and the vast world. It is, therefore, 
that the latter is susceptible to influences even from the 
stars. It is, therefore, that with the latter are associ- 
I all the agents of this mundane sphere. To unfold 
these principles is the object of the following chapter-." 

We first call attention to the forty-sixth paragraph. 

"Man has always confounded his animal with his 
highest nature ; while, at the same time, he has looked 
upon the animal as entirely destitute of spirituality. " 

The distinction here made between man's higher 
nature and animal nature is not recognized by Solo- 
mon, or by Nature herself; and if we mistake not, 
what the author calls man's animal nature is his 
highest nature. 

M To escape these absurdi: 
flight i< made to tl, in. an I it is supposed that 

the psychological nature which man p< a in com- 

mon with the animal i-. i: . made spiritual 

and immortal, while that of the animal is left to 
perish with that of the bod 

The author here seems to be guilty of the selfsame 



202 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

error he is charging upon others. It is this " psycho- 
logical nature which man possesses in common with 
the animal" which is the child of theory, and not the 
"some way" in which man himself may become both 
spiritual and immortal. 

We have already shown from Paul that man is 
first natural, then spiritual ; bearing first the image 
of the first Adam, who is of the earth, earthy; then 
the image of the second, which is the Lord from 
heaven, and is spiritual. (See page 132.) 

And Christ, speaking of the resurrection, at the last 
day, said, he that liveth at that day, and believeth in 
him, shall never die. " Believest thou this ? " Those 
who do will not call it theorizing to talk of man's 
becoming immortal at that day, while beasts are left 
to perish bodily. 

Paul, speaking of such as our Savior referred to, 
says, they shall be changed; and that change he 
defines to be from mortal to immortality (£>pq 1 
Cor. xv.) 

" 51. Man has both ; the animal has but one. The 
former ("that is, the self-judging, self-deciding, self- 
conscious, personal identity ") makes man man. The 
latter (" that is, the psychological, controllable by out- 
ward mundane influences") makes him an animal. 

" The former makes him a governor of himself. 
The latter makes him an automaton — the tool of 
any sensuous influence that may preponderate at the 
time. The former makes man a self-conscious, ac- 
countable being ; the latter, an irresponsible machine." 
But some beasts possess, to a certain degree, all which 
he says makes man man; and many of them are better 
governors of themselves than the greater part of man- 
kind. They not only govern themselves individually, 



OPPOSITION LINK. 203 

but many tribes of them have a general governor. 

Thus, the gregarious, both boast and bird, the ant and 
bee, have each a governor which rules, each in their 
respective realms, with a majestic dignity that would 
do honor to an Alexander or a Caesar. 

" The latter makes him (man) an automaton." 
But an automaton cannot act without a conscious 
something, somewhere, possessing all the powers and 
faculties of mind and brain, which constitute man 
man, in contradistinction to a brute. 

Now, what is this conscious agent ? Is it od force, or 
mundane action ? If so, we have, indeed, discovered 
a new agent, one that has greater claims to od force 
than its advocates would be willing to allow. It is an 
intuitive axiom, that a thing cannot impart what it 
does not possess. How, then, can " outward mundane 
influences " impart to the animal the animal faculties 
and propensities ? He says, the latter (the outward 
mundane influences) " is the passive instrument of 
the dictates of the higher nature, or of the unnum- 
bered influences of the outer sensuous world." He 
cannot mean by this the world of mankind ; for he adds, 
" It is, therefore, that the latter is susceptible to the 
influence of the stars." May not, then, some evil- 
disposed star have influenced him to err a little in 
laying the foundation of his " Philosophy of Mysteri- 
ous Rappings?" According to the positions here 
assumed, man, in his normal state, is far inferior to 
what he is in the mesmeric ; indeed, the latter is often 
called the superior state, and this author makes it the 
animal state. In the former, he is dependent on his 
normal senses for his wisdom ; in the latter, on the 
" outward mundane influences." In the former, his 
sensations are limited to a small sphere ; in the latter, 



204 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

they are bounded only by the stars. Or, in other 
words, as a man, his sensations are very limited ; but, 
as an animal, they are limited only by the universe. 
In the former, or, as a man, he possesses but a moder- 
ate share of wisdom ; but in the latter, as an animal, 
his wisdom approximates to that of godlike. If 
this is the only real difference there is between man 
and the mere animal, better had he been a mere 
animal ; for, by what has hitherto been called instinct, 
they are endowed with a superior knowledge of many 
things than man, and often with a foreknowledge 
that man does not possess. Some display a mechan- 
ical knowledge, others a chemical, and others a 
medicinal, that man cannot equal, or scarcely imitate. 
In case of* disease, the animal goes into the field, 
(Nature's apothecary shop,) selects the remedy, deals 
out the potion, takes or administers it, and always 
with success; or, at least, is never known to lose a 
patient ; while man, after long years of plodding 
through his volumes, preparatory to practice, often 
kills ten patients to curing one. 

The learned astronomer, after proudly contemplat- 
ing the heavenly bodies and investigating the physical 
laws which govern them, is more ignorant of the se- 
verity or mildness of an approaching winter than the 
dormouse. He may, indeed, be able to foretell the 
time of high water ; but the beaver and muskrat will 
do more ; they will tell the time and height of a future 
freshet, and prepare to meet the event. And further, it 
is added, — 

" By the former he is to claim conscious alliance 
with the Divinity ; for it is an image, nay, a child, of the 
all-controlling Spirit. For as the ever-blessed God is 
the ever-active, ever-developing energy of the universe? 



OPPOSITION LINE. 205 

is the self-conscious will and reason of man the only 
lawful governor of the human sphere Hence it is the 
highe8f agency on earth under Deity." 

It" this, in man, is a a child of the all-controlling 
Spirit,' 1 what is that a child of which gives an intui- 
tive knowledge of these things to animals? Again: 
is not the agency which controls the animal sphere as 
lawful a governor as that which controls the human? 
So we think. But there is a more " lawful Governor" 
of the human sphere, if men would but be governed 
by him rather than by their own vain philosophy; one 
that u will reprove (convince) the world of sin, and of 
righteousness, and of judgment." (John xvi. 8.) 

Again : how does the former bring man more in alli- 
ance with Divinity than the latter does the animal ? 
and how is the former a " centre of higher agency " 
than the latter? We do not see. We have shown 
that the animal instinct leads to higher attainments 
than man's erring reason. The latter takes the longer 
and more circuitous route, and arrives at decisions with 
the less certainty. For instance : man, by a laborious, 
mathematical calculation, may ascertain nearly how 
much food will serve him and his family through a 
winter; but the ant ascertains it intuitively, and has 
no need of mathematics. In fact, the animal, as far 
as utility is concerned, possesses the end of every 
science, by intuition, to a greater degree of accuracy 
than man by a long course of study. Humiliating 
it may appear, it is even so. What proud philosopher, 
with all his acquired wisdom, would ever suspect that 
a bird might be produced from an egg, had not the 
bird first taught him the fact and the process ? Bui 
who first taught the bird these things? Why, 
one, she was not taught it at all; it is a matter of intli* 
18 



206 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

ition. Well, then, the untaught bird knows more than 
the learned philosopher; and the question forces itself 
upon us, From whence did she derive this intuitive 
knowledge ? Is it from od force ? If so, od force has 
conferred greater and more wonderful faculties upon 
the animal than the Deity has upon man ; and od force 
must be the greater deity. This is, indeed, od, and 
odd enough ; the odds are tremendous. 

From the above positions, it is evident that, in the 
mesmeric state, man puts off what constitutes him 
man, and puts on what constitutes him merely animal. 
In this latter state, he is certainly endowed with finer 
perceptions and a higher intellect. Now, the question 
is, Are there two primal sources of intelligence, from one 
of which the mind receives impressions, and from the 
other the brain ? And are there two separate and 
distinct things in man, each of which, without the 
other, is susceptible of receiving conscious impressions ? 
It would seem so ; for the author of the work we speak 
of says, on page 319, — 

" Now, it will make not the least difference, as to the 
sension of the brain, whether the mind takes cogni- 
zance of it or not ; as the former stands as a fact in 
nature, independent of the latter. Hence a man may 
have represented in his brain an infinite number of 
things which his mind never knew. Hence, also, it is, 
that, while the ' medium's ' brain has the sension of 
the so called clairvoyant, the mind does not know of the 
action of the brainP We have before heard of an " in- 
ner man" which some have erroneously supposed to 
be an immaterial, conscious man, inside of a material 
and unconscious body ; but here are really ttco inner 
men to one body, a brain independent of mind, and 
capable of receiving impressions and communicating 



OPPOSITION LINE. 207 

them to its fellow-brain in another individual : and 
still within this brain is another Bearf 01 eenire of a 
higher intelligence, capable also of eommunieating 
with kindred minds; and perhaps, on further mesmeric 
analysis, it may be found, that within this mind there 
is another centre of still higher intellect, and another 
within that, and so on, like a stack of juggler's tum- 
blers ; so that a man should be called u legions" for he 
is many. 

In the quotation just given, it is affirmed that the 
mind and the brain act independently of each other. 
According to that author's mode of reasoning, the fact, 
if it is one, can be proved by analogous and well- 
known cases. Now, is there a single case known, (ex- 
cept such as he supposes,) in which the mind of man 
has ever been known to act independent of a living, 
organized brain? There is not; an instance of the 
kind cannot be produced. Again: if the brain is so 
rj upon by mundane force as to produce sension, 
independent of living mind, the same mundane force 
may also so act on the brain of the dead, and produce 
the same effect. So, after all, the raps and communi- 
cations may be from the spirits, or rather from the 
brains, of the dead. 

There is no way to avoid the conclusion. It is 
matter acting on matter, that is, mundane agency 
acting on a material brain, so as to produce sension, 
which again i> communicated to either another brain 
or mind, or botli. to which it becomes intelligci 
In this way the mundane agency may act on a dead 
man's brain to impress it with sen-ion, which again 
is impressed upon the brain of a living medium, 
through which it is communicated to a mind in the 
normal state. 



208 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

So, after all, the theory is admirably calculated to 
build up that which it is designed to pull down. If a 
force can come from any part of the mundane whole, 
and knock on a table or kick over a chair, it may as 
well come from the brain of a dead man as any 
thing else. 

Therefore, the od force theory must be abandoned, 
or the spiritual theory admitted ; for it makes but little 
difference whether the raps are made by the brains or 
spirits of the dead. We here give the "Deductions" 
found on pages 318-20 of the " Philosophy of Myste- 
rious Rappings." 

« DEDUCTIONS. — MORAL ARGUMENT. — CONCLUSION. 

"651. In the preceding pages we have presented 
facts, showing, — 

" First The influence of pathetism in producing that 
condition of the nervous system which throws it into 
relation to the mundane agent. Hence, when the local 
relations are favorable, the ' rappings ' and ' table 
movings ' are developed by pathetism in a manner to 
represent intelligence. 

" Second. That the condition of brain in which the 
phenomenon of clairvoyance is developed is that in 
which also the higher forms of intelligence in the rap- 
pings are obtained. And here it should be remem- 
bered, what has previously been shown, that clairvoy- 
ance is first the sension of the brain of what exists in 
time and space, without the ordinary use of the senses, 
and results from a susceptible condition of the brain, 
in which it stands in a general relation to the whole 
outward material world, or in the midst of, and subject 
to, the influence of the new imponderable ; conse- 



OPPOSITION' LINE. 209 

quentlv, 1 lint the brain in this relation is like ft tele- 
graphic ('(Mitral point, from which radiate and extend 
an infinity of connecting wires to surrounding 

point, so that a touch at any one of those in relation 
to the centre (the sensitive brain) conveys to it at once 
the exact representative impression. 80 also the 
brain, standing as a centre in time, is related to the 
events that have transpired, and which are to transpire, 

the outer point is related to the centre in the order 
and relation of sequence. Hence in the brain is repre- 
sented any point of time or space by specific action. 
If. then, as must be admitted, the knowledge which the 
mind obtains of the external world is by the external 
world representing itself first upon the brain, it must 
necessarily follow that the mind has no knowledge of 
these representations when its action is suspended in 
the brain, as is seen in the so called unconscious clair- 
voyance. The representation in the brain of the 
external world, then, is not knowledge, but simply 
sension. But, when the mind takes cognizance of the 
brain's sension, the cognizance is knowledge. Hence 
conscious clairvoyance, so called, is the cognizance 
which the mind takes of the sension of the brain, with- 
out the ordinary five senses. 

" Now, it will make not the least difference, as to the 
sension of the brain, whether the mind takes cogni- 
zance of it or not, as the former stand- as a fact in 
nature independent of the latter* Hence a man may 
have represented in his brain an infinite 1 number of 
things which his mind never knew. llenc- 
that, while the ; medium's' brain has the same sension 
of the so called clairvoyant, the mind dors not tenor 
the action of the brain. Its representations bi 
unconsciously exhibited in the ' rapping,' his mind, 
18* 



210 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

therefore, knows not how to refer them, except to some 
other being, some spirit. He rightly denies that he, 
as a, person, — as a conscious, knowing, responsible 
agent, — has any thing to do with the intelligent repre- 
sentations in the rappings ; and yet there is not one of 
the < communications ' made, throughout the whole 
body of the present phenomena, but falls within the 
legitimate province of the brain's sension. This ap- 
plies whether to the Wrappings' or to the involuntary 
movements of the medium's muscles. For we have 
shown,— 

" Third. That when the organism stands in the power 
of a mundane emanation, so that the earthly agent, in 
its action upon and through the organism, shall cause 
the movement of objects or concussive sounds, the ac- 
tion of the brain, in specific relation, will have a control- 
ling influence. Hence, as the brain acts in reference 
to mundane results, so will the mundane agent repre- 
sent the results ; and thus the action of the mundane 
agent represents the action of the brain. For the brain 
itself — indeed, the whole nervous system — stands 
specifically related to the mundane agent, and is kept 
from its powerful influence only by the health of the 
body and the supreme control of the mind. But it has 
been shown, — 

"Fourthly. That, in order to become a ' medium,' the 
mind must not control the functions ; that it is a uni- 
versal requisition, among the so called spiritualists, 
that a person, in order to be a ' medium,' must be 
passive, — must resign himself to be controlled, — that 
he must have no will ; in short, that he must resign 
all his controlling power over his body, and leave his 
brain and general organism, and their various func- 
tions, to be controlled by a foreign agent. Conse- 



OPPOSITION LINK. 211 

quently, he who, as a responsible agent, lias usually 
the leasl control over the organism, is the most readily 
inducted into ' mediumship.' And such a man mosl 
readily falls under the control of material influences. 

For, as we have shown, when the mind docs not control 
>rgcm$, the powers of the world will. It is impos- 
sible that this should be otherwise, since the organism 
belongs to tiie world of matter, and is subject to the 
forces of matter ; and that only by the forces of his own 
mind — namely, by his will and his reason — can man 
save his automatic nature from the dominion of mat- 
ter. Even then he will fail, if the vitality of the 
organism becomes weakened. The perfect man, then, 
is a perfect mind, controlling, for the divinest of pur- 
poses, a perfect body. 

" Now, as the mind supremely active over the organ- 
ism constitutes the man, it follows that to resign this 
and to become passive is to resign our manhood. 

"Finally. As the mind only can be the free, thinking, 
responsible agent, the organism is only a machine. 
To resign, therefore, the mind, --—to become passive, as 
is required of those who would be < mediums,' — is to 
become an unthinking, irresponsible machine. In so 
far as persons become { mediums,' they are mere 
automatons? 

We first call attention to the following sentence : — 

"And here it should be remembered, what has pre- 
viously been shown, that clairvoyance is first the scn- 
sion of the brain of what exists in time and space, 
without the ordinary use of the senses. 

First, it will be noticed that pathetism throws the 
nervous system into a condition which brings it into 
relation to the mundane agent, by which clairvoyance 
is the " sension of the brain of what exists in time and 



212 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

space;" and further on it is said this is "not knowl- 
edge, but simply sension. But, when the mind takes 
cognizance of the brain's sens-ion, the cognizance is 
knowledge" 

Now, as nothing can exist except what is in time and 
space, it follows that the brain first has an omnia sen- 
sion, which is knowledge where the mind takes cogni- 
zance of it, and must be as unlimited as the sension, 
which makes it amount, in the end, to omniscience. 
This is rather more than the serpent told our first 
parents — " Ye shall be as gods, knowing good and 
evil." Pathetism has a little more than made his 
words true. 

But, suppose we admit all this, still the theory is a 
rotten one. For things do not exist before they exist ; 
but clairvoyants tell of them before ; so they are pos- 
sessed with a sension underived from mundane agen- 
cies. The author whom we quote speaks of a man 
who was in the habit of telling beforehand when a 
funeral in his neighborhood would take place. 

Further on it is said that the brain in this relation 
(to the whole outward material world) " is like a tele- 
graphic central point, from which radiate and extend 
an infinity of connecting wires to every surrounding 
point, so that a touch at any one of those in relation 
to the centre (the sensitive brain) conveys to it at 
once the exact representative expression. So also the 
brain, standing as a centre in time, is related to the 
events that have transpired, and which are to transpire, 
as the outer point is related to the centre in the order 
of sequence." 

But the telegraphic wire is useless without an intel- 
ligent agent at each end of it to make the " touch" 
Now, when a clairvoyant tells of a thing before it exists, 



OPPOSITION LINE. 213 

who makes the " touch " at the other end of the wire 
where afl yet there is no event? For instance: in the 
o( the man who foretold funerals; his brain was 
at one end of the wire, and a funeral must have been 
at the other end for him to have told of a funeral ; but 
the fact is, he told it before it existed at the other end. 

But it is said, "the brain, standing as a centre in 
time, is related to the events that have transpired, and 
which are to transpire." So, in such cases, future time, 
burdened with the future event, gives the "touch" at 
the other end of the wire. But, philosophically, there 
is no such thing as future time or future events. Time, 
like a gentle stream, is constantly rolling onward ; it 
fills the channel of the stream behind, but not ahead 
at any given point until it arrives at that point. And 
an event cannot be an event until it transpires, any 
more than a child can be a child before it is begotten. 
We speak of future time and future events as a mere 
matter of convenience, to avoid a circumlocution. The 
moment a point of fime or an event exists, it is past; 
so an existing' future point of time, or an existing future 
event, must be in the past tense ; which is an absurdity 
none will admit. So it is equally as absurd to talk of 
any existing relation of the brain to future time or 
events, as it is to talk of an existing relation between 
a father and son before either is born. But, absurd 
as it is, it is one of the strong pillars in the " Philoso- 
phy of Mysterious Rappings." 

It is generally admitted that a stream cannot rise 
higher than its head. We have followed the stream 
to what is called the head, but find the stream rises 
above it. 

In pathetism, there is a knowledge obtained which 
theory does not account for. And we ask, From whence 



£14 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

is it? We do not ask through what channel or con- 
catenation of means it comes to the brain ; whether 
by an electrical telegraphic line, or a mundane line of 
packets, or an od force postboy; but we ask, Wliere 
and what is the fountain head of this mesmeric sension 
or knowledge ? It does not reside in mundane things ; 
where is it, then, we ask again ? But echo answers, 
Where ? 

The nearest thing in nature allied to it is animal 
instinct ; and in this, as Pope says, " God directs." 

If God directs clairvoyants, they are really his proph- 
ets. This cannot be, for they generally tell ten lies to 
one truth, while his prophets always tell the truth ; and 
even animal instinct is never known to err, so that 
clairvoyants cannot be under that influence. But they 
must be under some intelligent influence ; and we have 
shown it is not of a mundane nature, and that it is not 
of God ; consequently, as a dernier resort, it must be of 
the devil. 

We are aware this is an unpopular idea in this pres- 
ent age of moral philosophism, in which men have 
become so vastly " wise above what is written." But 
the fact that there is a devil is revealed from a higher 
source than the wisdom of men, and that he has done 
just what is being done through what is usually called 
mesmerism, pathetism, &c. 

That there is a mysterious intelligence manifested in 
clairvoyants, mediums, &c, all agree. Many writers 
tell us a great deal about philosophical channels 
through which the intelligence comes, but little or 
nothing about the source from whence it comes. The 
postboy who brings us the news is not the news him- 
self, but the means of conveying it. 

Here is the grand point on which the writers of 



OPPOSITION LINE. 

philosophical theories o( mesmerism have failed; and 
these failures the modem spiritualists are making 
capital out of, They say it is lYom the spirits of the 
dead, and that there 18 no devil; and having, as they 
think, found the source of the intelligence, little do 
they care by what physical or philosophical channel 
their opponents bring it to the living ; if they only 
it there, it answers their purpose. If a man has 
important news which he wishes to send his friend in 
Europe, he can contrive some way to get it to him ; 
and when received, if of a mysterious nature, his 
friend will not so much wonder through what channel 
it was conveyed to him as how his friend happened to 
have it to convey. He would not suspect that the 
wonderful news originated in the mode of convey- 
ance, or in the peculiar state he was in to receive it. 

DEDUCTIONS. 

Having briefly examined several theories opposed 
to that of the agency of departed spirits, we are irre- 
sistibly led by them, if admitted, to the following 
conclusions : — 

1. That the influence of magnetism throws the 
nervous system into a condition to be influenced by 
some external agent, in a manner to represent intel- 
ligence surpassing that of the normal state. 

Thar \\\\< intelligence must originate in, and 
proceed from, that external agent. 

3. That the external agetlt, whatever it may be 
called, is but a part, or the whole, of the grand mun- 
dane unive, 

4. That as a thing cannot impart what it does not 
possess, the material universe possesses a setision 



216 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

of things, past, present, and future, which it impresses 
on the brain, and in which, in connection with the 
mind, becomes knowledge. 

5. That, as the brain is associated with mind, and 
stands related to the whole universe, of which it is a 
miniature representation, so also the whole universe, 
as a whole, must have a mind as well as sension. 

6. That the innate sension of the mundane uni- 
verse is unlimited ; consequently, it possesses an 
omniscient mind, susceptible of being impressed upon 
the brain, and through that, under favorable circum- 
stances, to the mind of man, in a greater or less 
degree. 

7. As God is omniscient, he must be the omni- 
science of the universe. 

8. That the material universe is God, as matter 
endowed with sension, and whose mind is omniscient. 
And as man is made in the image of God, he is a 
miniature representation of the universe, having a 
material brain, susceptible, under the influence of 
pathetism, of receiving the sension of the material 
universe, and reflecting it upon his mind, which is 
knowledge. 

9. That there are but two principles in nature — 
God and matter, or mind and matter. 

10. That the body of man is a part of one, and 
his soul is a part of the other ; and at death, the 
former returns to the great sea of matter, and the 
latter to the great sea of intellect, in which the iden- 
tity and personality of both are forever lost in the 
universal whole. 

It will be seen that the mundane, like the electro, 
theory already examined, leads, also, to the conclu- 
sion that, as the great Mind of all is identified with 



OPPOSITION LINE. 217 

the universe, every phenomenon would be the same, 
whether matter existed or not; so that pantheism, or 

idealism, must finally be the result of all such theories. 
And sueh, also, is finally the result of the doctrine 

disclosed by the pretended spirits. The former leads 
us to this conclusion by a little shorter route than the 
latter; it is, therefore, a little shorter way to infidel- 
ity. Now, if a belief in spiritual agency in these 
things is an evil, it is only so from its evil tendency. 
Admit it is an evil, and how shall we oppose it? 
Not by presenting a theory which has for its very 
elements the selfsame evil; for it is a poor physician 
who cures the malady of his patient by plunging him 
into another, which the sooner produces the same 
fatal end, like cutting off a man's head to save him 
from death by cholera. Find a science or natural 
agent by which a medium can foretell with precision 
a future event, and we have found one by which 
might have come that prophecy of old, which alone is 
calculated to mould the savage nature of man into 
an angelic form, and teach him his accountability to 
God, and the way to eternal life and happiness here- 
after. 

No doubt but many Christians, believing in these 
so called philosophical modes of accounting for the 
"mystery" will rejoice in what they think the over- 
throw of rapping spiritualism; but they ought rather 
to mourn ; for the victory (if such it. be) has been too 
dearly purchased by finishing up what rapology has 
begun. 

Now, what great difference does it make in the 

end whether these things are done by the spirits of 

the dead, or by mm y, or electricity ; either 

way of accounting for them is fatal to divine rev- 

19 



218 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

elation and the religion of Jesus Christ, and alike 
has a tendency to throw off that moral restraint so 
essential to our well being here and eternal life here- 
after. 

To find out some philosophical way to throw off 
this restraint, seems to be the present grand object of 
the world ; and what the pretended spirits of the dead 
are not able to do, is likely to be done by the philos- 
ophism of the age. These are truly the perilous 
times which the apostle Paul said should come in 
" the last- days ; " in which he says men will be " ever 
learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of 
the truth." Men have gone on building theory upon 
theory, and throwing darkness upon darkness, by 
reason of not being willing to "give the devil his 
due." The doctrine of the new agent identifies the 
Deity with matter ; and to be consistent with itself 
and popular opinion, it must identify the devil with 
man. Here lies the difficulty : the real agent being 
kept out of sight, the more theory we have, the more 
obscurity. The world has always hated the truth, 
which of late is become very unpopular; so much so, 
that few writers dare to meddle with it. But nothing 
else will save us. Popular theory may make us 
popular, that is, " high esteemed among men," but 
" an abomination in the sight of God." Our Savior 
prayed that his disciples might be sanctified by the 
truth, (not by popular opinion.) " Thy word is truth." 
Let us take it, then, instead of od force, and we shall 
find out the agent in pathetism at once. 

Though we have devoted a chapter to prove, by 
the word of God, the identity and personality of the 
adversary of man, it may be proper here to give the 
reader some evidence of it in this place, that he may 



OPPOSITION LINE. 



219 



the better judge what is the agent in these mysteries. 
Matt xxv. 41, "Then shall he say also to them on 
the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into ever- 
lasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.' 1 

Here the Savior certainly recognizes two orders of 
wicked beings, viz., wicked men, who at the judgment 

day will depart into a place prepared for the devil and 
his angels. Now, if the angels of the devil are 
wicked me*, as some think they are, who is the devil ? 
He cannot be a man. (See chapter fifteen.) 



220 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 



CHAPTER XIV. 

MESMERISM CONSIDERED IN THE LIGHT OF DIVINE 
REVELATION. 

" When thou art come into the land which the 
Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do 
after the abominations of those nations. There shall 
not be found among you any one that maketh his son 
or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth 
divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, 
or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar, 
spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do 
these things are an abomination unto the Lord : and 
because of these abominations the Lord thy God 
doth drive them out from before thee." (Deut. xviii. 
9-12.) 

" These words were delivered by Moses, in the 
name of Jehovah, to the people of Israel, when they 
were about to pass over Jordan into their promised 
land, and just before the great lawgiver ascended 
Mount Nebo to die. In them he gives a comprehen- 
sive catalogue of almost all the arts and practices of 
divination that have ever been known in the world ; 
and solemnly prohibits them, as heathen abominations, 
which are sure to bring the curse of God upon their 
victims. When thou art come into the land ivhich the 
Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do 
after the abominations of those nations. 

" 1. There shalt not be found among you any that 
maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, 



OPPOSITION LINE. 221 

This expression, to pass through the fire, describes a 
rite of the idolatrous worshippers of Moloch, which, 
as it would seem, did not always destroy the lives of 
the children. For King Abaz, among his other abom- 
inations, made his son to pass through, the fire ; and 
this son seems to have been the same with Hezekiah, 
who reigned after his father. It is probable that this 
was a form of divination in which the children were 
in some way exposed to the action of fire, and by 
which a prosperous and happy life was divined for 
those who escaped. 

" 2. Or that nseth divination. This specification 
seems to refer to particular kinds of divination, as by 
the idolatrous use of the lot ; by the divining rod ; by 
arrows, upon which were written directions to do or 
not to do any given thing, and which were drawn at 
random from the quiver; by the voices and the flight 
of birds, and from the entrails of victims, whether 
animal or human, which were slain for sacrifices. 

"3. Or an observer of times. One who pretended 
to foretell future events from the motions of the 
clouds, and perhaps from those of the heavenly bodies. 
The prophet Isaiah thus speaks to those who were 
deluded by these arts in his day: Let now the astrol- 
ogers, the star gazers, the monthly prognosticators, 
stand up and save thee from, all these things that shall 
come upon thee. Behold, they shall be as stubble ; the 
fire shall bum them. They shall not deliver them- 
selves from the power of the flame. 

"4, 6. Or an enchanter, or a charmer. Those who 
sought to confirm their pretensions to magical pow- 
ers by charming venomous serpents, by prescribing 
charms, and by muttering spells to cure diseases and 
to avert other calamities. 
19* 



222 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

" 5, 8. Or a witch, or a wizard. These words, both 
in the Hebrew and English, are applied to those, 
whether male or female, who pretend to superior 
knowledge or wisdom derived from magical arts. 
Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. 

" 7. Or a considter with familiar spirits. Literally, 
one who consults with the bottle or wine skin. There, 
is not a doubt but that those who practised this form 
of divination were ventriloquists. Either they caused 
their stomachs to protrude like a wine skin blown up, 
as was so frequently noticed in the Salem witchcraft, 
and by speaking in a strange voice, as out of their 
stomachs, persuaded the ignorant people that they 
had a demon inside of them, by which they could 
divine, or they carried a wine skin about with them, 
and gave their oracles as if from a spirit confined in 
it by magic. Hence, in the Septuagint, the Greek 
version of the Scriptures which was made by the 
Jews themselves, this phrase is translated by a word 
which exactly corresponds in form and meaning to 
our ventriloquist. This kind of divination, in spite of 
the curses pronounced upon it in a great number of 
places and in a great variety of forms, seems to have 
been a favorite superstition with the people of Israel. 
And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out 
of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the 
dust, and thy voice shall be as of one that hath a 
familiar spirit, and thy speech shall whisper (in the 
margin, peep, or chirp, i. e., make a sound like that of 
callow birds) out of the dust. Regard not them that 
have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards to be 
defiled by them. The soul that turneth after such as 
have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a- 
whoring after them, I will set my face against that 



OPPOSITION LINK. 223 

son], and will cut him off from his people. The same 
thing is spoken of also in the New Testament, in 

the ease of a certain damsel i ed with a. spirit 

of divination, literally a spirit of Python, which 
brought her masters much £ain by soothsaying. 

>f the word Python here, it would seem 
that this form of divination was identical with one 
that prevailed extensively among the Greeks and 
Romans. Those who practised this art are frequently 
calle hes and wizards in the Scriptures; and 

they pretended also to consultation with the spirits of 
the dead. 

"9. Or a necromancer. Literally, an interrogator of 
the dead, whether by means of familiar spirits or 
otherwise. And when they shall say unto you, Seek 
unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards 
that peep (or chirp) and mutter, then ye shall answer, 
Should not a people seek unto their God ? Should 
they seek for the living unto the dead ? To the law 
and to the testimony : if they speak not according to 
this word, it is because there is no light in them. 
Thus saith the Lord thy Redeemer, and he that 
formed thee from the womb, I am the Lord that 
maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens 
above; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself; 
that frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh 
diviners mart. And Manasseth did evil in the siizhr 
of the Lord, after the abominations of the heathen. 
whom the Lord east out before the children of Israel. 
For he made his son to pass through the fire, and 
observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt 
with familiar spirits and wizards. Wherefore the 
Lord brought upon him the captains of the host of 
the King of Assyria, which took him among the 



224 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him 
captive to Babylon. It was of one of these necro- 
mancers that Saul asked counsel after he was aban- 
doned of God, and just before his mournful suicide. 
And Saul said unto his servants, Seek me a woman that 
hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her and inquire 
of her. And he said unto her, Divine unto me by 
the familiar spirit, and bring me up from the dead 
him whom I shall name unto thee ? So Saul died for 
his transgression which he had committed — for asking 
counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire 
of it." 

It is true, we do not find the word mesmerism, 
clairvoyance, or medium in the Bible ; but the name 
of a thing does not alter the thing itself. 

That the witch of Endor was what is now called a 
medium, cannot be doubted. Hear the language ad- 
dressed to her by Saul: "Divine unto me by the 
familiar spirit, and bring me him up whom I shall 
name unto thee." (1 Sam. xxviii. 8.) And for this 
sin Saul died. (1 Chron. x. 13.) At the present 
time, people are going to persons called mediums, and 
saying, " Bring me up those I shall name." And the 
spirits of such are said to be brought up. No matter 
by what agency it is said to be done, whether by 
witchcraft, electricity, odyle, necromancy, or mesmer- 
ism, it is the same thing. 

It is said the holy prophets were under the same 
influence. But this cannot be. We never hear of 
their pretending to consult with the spirits of the 
dead ; but, on the contrary, they every where con- 
demn the practice. Moreover, it is evident that the 
prophets and wizards of old were not considered as 
both one, otherwise Samuel would not have been 



OPPOSITION LINE. 225 

called a prophet, and the medium of Endor a witch. 
Neither would one have been approved of God, and 
the other condemned, had they both been of one sect 
or class. We never read that God ever manifee 

his displeasure to those who Bought unto his propfa 
but he has every where manifested it to those who 
unto a witch) medium, or necroman* 

Neither is it less displeasing in the si^ht of Clod 
now than in the days of Saul : and unless nature has 
changed since that time, it is now done by the same 
agency. Xo matter by what name or by what power 
this agency is called into action; when in action, it 
is the same. 

That holy men of old did not make their disclosures 
through the spirits of the dead, is evident from some 
of their disclosures themselves. For instance : Job 
say>, (Job xiv..) u Who can bring a clean thing out of 
an unclean ? not one. Seeing his days are deter- 
mined, the number of his months are with thee, thou 
hast appointed his bounds, that he cannot pass ; 
turn from him, that he may rest till he shall accom- 
plish, as an hireling, his day. For there is hope of a 
tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and 
that the tender branch thereof will not cease. Though 
the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock 
thereof die in the ground, yet through the scent of 
water it will bud. and brin^r forth boughs like a plant. 
But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth 
up the ghost, and where is he? Lb the waters fail 
from the sea, and the llood decayetb and drieth up: 
so man lieth down, and riseth not : till the heavens be 
no more, they ^hall not awake, nor be raised out of 
their sleep. If a man die. shall he live again ? All the 



226 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change 
come." 

And again, speaking of the dead, he says, " His 
sons come to honor, and he knoweth it not ; and they 
are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them." 
Let us, for a moment, contemplate Job in the charac- 
ter of a medium. A spirit comes to him, perhaps that 
of his deceased father, and thus addresses him : " Job, 
my son, I am before you to make an important 
revelation." 

" Well, father, what is it?" 

" Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and 
full of trouble. He cometh forth as a flower, and is 
cut down ; not like a tree to sprout up again immedi- 
ately, but he lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens 
be no more, he does not awake, nor is he raised out 
of his sleep ; neither does he know what befalls the 
living : for when you, my son, were in your palmy days 
of prosperity, you came to honor, but I, being dead^ 
knew it not ; and now, in your present afflictions, 
you are brought low, even in dust and ashes ; but I do 
not perceive it of you." 

" But you say you are the spirit of my father, and 
that you are dead, and are not to rise again, or wake 
up, till the heavens be no more ; and that you know 
not what befalls the living; how, then, do you reveal 
these things? " 

" Done ! " rapped the spirit, and so ended the dis- 
closure. 

Nor can we, with more propriety, contemplate Sol- 
omon in the same character. It could not have been 
the spirit of the dead that disclosed to him the fact 
that " there is no tvork, nor device, nor knowledge, nor 
wisdom in sheol, (the state of the dead,) whither thou 



OPPOSITION LINK. 227 

t : " because such a disclosure, made by the dead, 
would carry its own condemnation on the faee of it. 
(Eccl. ix. 10.) 

But whatever maybe said of "circle disclosures," 
it is certain the secrets of God can never be revealed 
through wicked men. "The secret of the Lord is 
with them that fear hirri ; and he will show them his 
covenant." (Ps. xxv. 14.) " Surely the Lord God 
will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his 
rants the prophets." (Amos iii. 7. Prov. iii. 32. 
John vii. 17; xv. 15.) The secret of the Lord is 
with them that fear him ; the wicked cannot reveal 
it; they have often tried, but always failed. A 
few instances will here be given. Through Moses 
and Aaron was revealed the power of God. The 
attempt that the Egyptian magicians made to prove 
the same power in their god, or to disprove the power 
of Moses' God, proved, in the end, a total failure. 

We next call attention to the dream of Pharaoh. 
Gen. xli. 8, " And it came to pass in the morning, 
that his spirit was troubled ; and he sent and called 
for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men 
thereof: and Pharaoh told them his dream, but there 
was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh. 
Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph. And Joseph 
answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me : God 
shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace." Joseph had 
before stated to his fellow-prisoner that interpretations 
belong to God. In this case, Hod had a secret to 
reveal; a wicked Pharaoh could dream it, but neither 
bs nor magicians could interpret it; for that 
purpose there must be a Joseph, a man of God. 

So in the ease of Nebuchadnezzar ; he also dreamed 
a dream wherewith his spirit was troubled. Dan. ii., 



228 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

" Then the king commanded to call the magicians, 
and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, 
for to show the king his dreams." How common it is 
for the wicked to look every way for instruction before 
they do to God ! He has given us every necessary in- 
struction concerning the future in his word ; yet people 
are more prone to consult mediums or necromancers 
than they are the word of God. Thus Pharaoh and 
Nebuchadnezzar first called upon their magicians; but 
when they saw their utter inability to reveal the truth, 
they sought unto men inspired of God. In the latter 
case, the Chaldeans said, " There is not a man upon 
the earth that can show the king's matter." They un- 
doubtedly thought there was no greater power of 
divination than theirs ; and had there been none greater 
than psychology or mesmerism, " the king's matter " 
never would have been revealed, for the secrets of God 
are not revealed by or through these means. 

But the question may be asked, How shall we dis- 
tinguish between the revelation of modern mediums 
and that of the holy prophets of God ? The rule we 
have already given from the counterfeit detector — 
" The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him." 
Those who fear God, and who reveal his secrets, never 
fail to give him the glory ; they do not give it to the 
spirits of the dead, or to God through departed spirits, 
but directly to God. 

There are, then, at least two sources from whence 
disclosures are made — a good and an evil source ; and 
two characters through which they are made — the 
righteous and the wicked. Through the righteous 
only are revealed the secrets of God ; and through the 
wicked, lying wonders and the mystery of iniquity. 
These revelations are as antithetical to each other as 



OPPOSITION LINK. 229 

light and darkness, or as the two characters through 
which they arc revealed. If cither one is true, the 
Other must be false. The revelations made by the 
holy prophets and apostles can never be made to har- 
monize with those made by modern mediums. Yet 
there are a few zealous advocates of the latter who pre- 
tend to believe in the former. But it is said truth is 
revealed ; and it must be from a good source, for truth 
cannot proceed from an evil fountain. This is sheer 
assumption. The devil himself has been known to 
tell a most sacred truth. He said to our Savior, " I 
know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God." A 
more sacred truth was never uttered. Again: " And 
the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and 
Paul I know; but who are ye?" 

Moreover, he has frequently quoted the Scriptures 
of divine truth. If he does not intend to inculcate 
some truth, the better to carry out his purposes, he 
would not refer us to the rvord of truth. 

He is the great deceiver ; yet he does not, generally, 
teach in plain terms a disregard for truth ; but on the 
contrary, when occasion calls, pretends to have a 
sacred esteem for it, and often uses it to subserve his 
own wicked ends. 

But it is said, also, that this work cannot be of the 
devil ; for if so, he must be an omnipresent being. 
This is equivalent to saying there is no devil, which 
he who says gives very good evidence that he is be- 
ginning, unawares, to train under his influence. For 
if he can do nothing now, because he is not omnipres- 
ent, there never was a time when he could. So the 
conclusion must be, that he never had any thing to do 
in the acts of men, and hence he never existed. But 
the Scripture informs us that he has existed; and until 
20 



230 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

a record of his death can be found, we have no au- 
thority to deny his being, or his present power to do 
evil. 

But it is often said, If this is of the devil, by what 
agency does he do these things ? that is, how does he 
make the raps, tip tables, &c. ? But if they are done 
by the spirits of the dead, it is as great a mystery by 
what agency they do it. If it is by the invisible and 
personal presence of the spirits of the dead by any 
agency, it may, by the same agency, also be done by 
the invisible and personal presence of evil spirits, or 
devils. 

We have no proof that the former exist, but abun- 
dant proof that the latter do. Satan " smote Job with 
sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown." 
The fact is revealed, and if we attempt to be wise 
above what is written, we put ourselves in a position 
to trifle with the word, and to be led away by the 
tern pter. 

Again : it is said, if this is of the devil, why is he suf- 
fered to work so complete a deception ? God, being 
of infinite power and goodness, would not suffer him 
to deceive the whole world ; therefore it cannot be a de- 
ception. It might as well be said that a God of infinite 
power and goodness would not suffer the whole world 
to be wicked ; and, therefore, the world is not wicked. 
The fact is, the great delusion is the legitimate off- 
spring of the great wicked. It is just what has fol- 
lowed as a consequence of wickedness in every age of 
the world, and, in the Scriptures, is every where con- 
sidered as an evidence of a departure from God and 
holiness. 

We shall here notice what the advocates of spiritual 
manifestations seem to rely upon as their strongest 



OPPOSITION LINE. 231 

argument J thftt is, « God is unchangeable ; therefore 
what he has formerly done he is now doing ; and if he 
ever gave revelations to men, he is now giving them 
through modern mediums." Bat this argument, to 
those who use ir, is worse than useless. For, in the 
first place, how do they know r that God is unchangeable ? 
They certainly have no means of knowing it but by the 
Scriptures ; and these their spiritual manifestations 
lead them to believe are false. But admit that God is 
unchangeable, and what he has done he is now 7 doing, 
and it involves them in a difficulty from which it is 
impossible to extricate themselves; that is, to prove 
that he has formerly manifested himself to the living 
through the dead. This they cannot do ; therefore their 
argument fails them, and more than fails them, because 
the Scriptures do prove that his former mode of giving 
revelaiions w T as by his Holy Spirit, or by angelic agen- 
cies ; ana more, unless he has changed his modus 
Operandi) he cannot give them through the spirits of the 
dead. Again : w r e have shown that the principles 
brought to view in divine revelations are repugnant to 
those brought to view in spiritual manifestations; and 
if those are of God, these are not, unless God has 
changed. Again : I deny their right in toto to base an 
argument on any thing revealed in Scripture until they 
acknowledge its divine and sacred truth. 

But an argument founded on the immutability of 
God may be used to advantage against rapping spirit- 
ualism. It is this: God is unchangeable, (which is 
admitted ;) therefore what he has done he is now doing; 
and if he suffered the devil formerly to deceive men, he 
is now suffering him to deceive them in the snmc way ; 
and if necromancy, or pretending to deal with the spirits 
of the dead, was formerly an evil in his sight, it is now. 



232 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

Again : without the least necessity of spiritual man- 
ifestations, God is doing in this age just what he has 
done in all ages ; that is, confirming the truth of his 
word, either by a fulfilment of it or by miracles. This 
age is peculiarly prolific in the fulfilment of sacred 
prophecy; so much so as to leave no room for the can- 
did to doubt the truth of it. 

But the advocates of spiritual disclosures are hard 
pressed for sound argument every way. They claim 
at this time the fulfilment of Joel's prophecy in their 
manifestations. (See Joel xi. 28, 29.) But it is evi- 
dent their claim is premature. The prophecy is not to 
be fulfilled in this state of things, but, "And it shall 
come to pass afterwards;" that is, after the things 
spoken of above ; that is, the restitution of all things, 
which has not yet come to pass. 

They have reason to fear that their manifestations 
are a fulfilment of prophecies which they would not 
relish quite as well, such as the following : " Now the 
Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some 
shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing 
spirits and doctrines of devils." (1 Tim. iii. 13.) " But 
evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, de- 
ceiving and being deceived." (2 Tim. iii. 13.) " But 
there were false prophets also among the people, even 
as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily 
shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the 
Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves 
swift destruction. And many shall follow their perni- 
cious ways, by reason of whom the way of truth shall 
be evil spoken of." (2 Peter ii. 1, 2.) " For the 
devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, be- 
cause he knoweth that he hath but a short time." 
(Rev. xii. 12.) 



IMPOSITION LINK. 

Now, when are these prophecies to he fulfilled ? 
Not in the millennium, when all will know the Lord, 
from the least to the greatest ; but u in the latli /• /////r.s*," or 
close of this dispensation. But if spiritual disclosures 
are destined to bring the world to the knowledge of 
the truth, they must have been fulfilled prior to spiritual 
manifestations; and we ask what "doctrine of devil- " 
was embraced just before rapping spiritualism ? If it 
be replied, the doctrine of the Bible, then I ask what 
faith the spiritualists have departed from I J< \\n\>\ 
be faith in the word of God. But this makes the 
prophecy find a fulfilment in spiritualists themselves- 

As far as we are able to learn, they do not deny 
departing from the apostolic faith ; that is, those that 
ever had it to depart from ; and this alone is a com- 
plete fulfilment of that part of the prophecy. And yet 
they tell us the Bible is not true, and demand of us the 
proof of it, while they are fulfilling it to the very letter. 

After all that has been said concerning the wonderful 
mesmeric disclosures that have been made, of such a 
nature as to forbid the possibility of a delusion, those 
very disclosures are a proof of the enormous deception, 
in a remarkable fulfilment of the w T ord of God. This 
can be proved by Scripture, and ought to put the thing 
forever at rest. We call attention to Ezek. xiv. 3, 4. 
" Son of man, these men have setup their idols in then- 
heart, and put the stumbling block of their iniquity 
before their face; should I be inquired of at all by 
them ? Every man of the house of Israel that sctteth 
up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumbling 
block of his iniquity before his face, and comet h to the 
prophet, I the Lord will answer him that comrth ac- 
cording to the multitude of his idols." 

Several points in this text claim attention. And 
20* 



234 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

first, it is not God who puts the stumbling block before 
the people, but the people themselves, by setting up 
idols of divination in their hearts. And yet they are 
saying, If " spiritual disclosures" are of the devil, why 
does God put such a great stumbling block before our 
faces ? Why, rather, do we put them before our own 
faces? If people would seek unto God rather than 
unto the dead, as they are commanded, the stumbling 
block would be out of the way at once. But through 
our own iniquity we put it before our eyes, and then 
foolishly charge it upon God, and wonder how spirit- 
ual disclosures can appear so real and afford us such 
consolation, and yet be of the devil. No wonder at 
all. God says, in the text, he will answer us according 
to the multitude of our idols which we set up in our 
hearts. If we make divining by the dead an idol in 
the heart, we shall be answered according to our expec- 
tations ; for such is the import of the text. And we 
have abundantly proved that a general feature in mes- 
merism is, that experiments in it prove the anticipations, 
creeds, and theories of its experimenters. 

"But some man will say," It is not so with me; I 
did not set it up in my heart or believe it ; I only went 
to investigate it, and found it true. 

That is the fatal error; you should have sought unto 
God, and not "the living unto the dead." It was 
there you departed from the commandment of God, 
and took the stumbling block along with you; and the 
devil was ready to help you set it up, and you are 
perfectly satisfied with it. Had you obeyed God in the 
first place, you never would have been deceived by 
what God has forbidden you to approach. 

"And the soul that turneth after such as have 
familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a-whoring 



OPPOSITION LINK, 235 

after them, I will even Bel my face against that soul, 

and will cut him off from among his people/' (Lev. 
xx. G.) 

Thia going to investigate the spiritual disclosures 

has rained many a one, and is likely to ruin many 
more. Strange infatuation! What! throw yourself 
away to the devil, to see if there is a devil to receive 
you ? 

If a man has no doubts about what it is, he would 
never investigate it to learn what it is; and if he lias 
doubts, they grow out of his want of faith in the word 
of God, which informs us that it is an abomination in 
h\< sight, and that he will set his face against such as 
turn after it; and when God sets his face against us, 
we are prepared to fall in with the spiritual manifesta- 
tions with but little investigation. Reader, if you are 
of this class, let me admonish you, in the love and 
fear of God, to investigate it once more, not by the 
raps or by the tipping of tables, but by :c the law 
and the testimony," as God has commanded. 

Vnd when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them 
that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep 
and mutter : should not a people seek unto their 
God ? for the living to the dead ? To the law and to 
the testimony : if they speak not according to this 
word, it is because there is no light in them. " (Is. 
viii. 19, 20.) 

WITCHCRAFT FORBIDDEN. 

" And I will cut ofF witchcrafts out of thine hand; 
and thou shalt have no more soothsayers." (Mic. 
v. 12.) 

Fearful are the judgments of God threatened of 



236 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

those who practise this sin. " Thou shalt not suffer a 
witch to live." (Ex. xxii. 18.) " A man or a woman 
that hath a familiar spirit shall surely be put to death : 
they shall stone them with stones : their blood shall be 
upon them.'" (Lev. xx. 27.) 

" But these two things shall come upon thee in a 
moment, in one day — the loss of children and widow- 
hood: they shall come upon thee in their perfection, 
for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great 
abundance of thy enchantments." (Is. xlvii. 9-13.) 
Paul thus addresses Elymus the sorcerer : '* O full 
of all subtilty and mischief, thou child of the de- 
vil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not 
cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord ? " (Acts 
xiii. 10.) 

The charge alleged against sorcerers, especially in 
the New Testament, is, they resist the Holy Ghost, 
and seek to turn people away from the faith. This is 
just what is now done by people called mediums. 

Their end is declared in Rev. xxi. 8. They " shall 
have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and 
brimstone ; which is the second death." 

Nowhere has effect ever been known to follow cause 
more manifestly than in psychology. We appeal to 
every one acquainted with it, and risk nothing in 
saying, that, in proportion as it is believed, true Chris- 
tian faith is wanting. The very nature of the thing is 
to turn people away from the faith, without which 
it is impossible to please God. And those who do 
this are called, in Scripture, children of the devil, and 
are said to be full of all subtilty and mischief. Now, 
there need be no quibbling whether psychology and 
sorcery are one and the same thing; they have the 
same effect ; both turn away from the faith. 



OPPOSITION LINE. 237 

MODERN DIVINATION. 

Divination is one of the sins which the people of 
Israel were forbidden to practise, and of which we 
have spoken at the commencement of this chapter. We 
proceed to detail the various ways in which it is prac- 
tised at present. 

To the various methods of divining practised by the 
ancients, the moderns have added several new ones; 
among which is the practice of telling fortunes by 
the dregs of a teacup, or by a pack of playing cards; 
by observing the moon for the first time after the change, 
and by its place in the ecliptic, called signs. 

To these may be added the first robin, swallow, 
snake, &c, seen in the spring. 

Now, to tell fortunes by the teacup or cards, nothing 
is necessary but confidence in the mode and a determi- 
nation to succeed. With these prerequisites one may 
begin, and, for the first time, tell just what he happens 
to think of first : some of it may be true, and some may 
not ; but continue to make repeated trials, and proclaim 
yourself a fortune teller, and it will not be long before 
you will be surprised at your own success; and as 
your faith increases, your reputation will increase also, 
and you will soon become renoivned. But if your con- 
science should happen to sting you, and you should 
perceive that your success is a fulfilment of that Scrip- 
ture which says God will answer according to the 
multitude of our idols by which we divine, and Bet up 
in our hearts, and you should seek unto the Lord for 
wisdom, your fortune telling would be at an end. It 
16 with that as with mesmerism : the author has tried 
them both, and has found that, to be successful 
in any of these things, it is not necessary that 



THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

a person should be the seventh son, or be born 
with a veil over the face, or under any particular 
planet; for there are none born above the planets. 
Neither is it necessary that a person should be of a 
peculiar temperament to be a good mesmerizer or 
medium. Any one can be a good mesmerizer, me- 
dium, witch, wizard, or fortune teller, by abandoning 
himself entirely to the influence, fearless of all con- 
sequences. 

But it may be. asked, Why does a seventh son, or 
one born with a veil over the face, succeed better in 
these things than others ? Because they are sought 
unto as diviners, and have been taught that they are 
such by nature ; and, believing that they are, they 
abandon themselves to the influence and to the prac- 
tice with more confidence than others ; therefore, they 
generally succeed better. This is only being an- 
swered according to their idols — their pretended 
birthright faculty being the stumbling block which 
they set up before their faces. 

It is strictly in accordance to the general feature in 
mesmerism, in all its forms ; that is, as we have all 
along shown, experiments in it prove the theory of 
the parties concerned. We have shown that every 
thing in it depends on the will of the operator. So 
in telling fortunes, looking through a blue stone, &c. 
A seventh son, or one born with a veil over the face, 
has been taught to believe he can do it; and he wills 
to do it, and does do it ; and so could any one else 
with the same faith and will, and the same disregard 
to the commands of God. 

Some people seem to think, because a table tips 
towards them, indicating them to be a medium, that 
they are highly favored of Heaven, being born with 



OPPOSITION LINE. 



239 



some peculiar privileges that, others have not. Proud 
of this (as they think) natural advantage, they are 
unqualified to resist this first temptation of the devil, 
but yield implicitly, a willing instrument in his hands, 
to perforin the blackest deeds of sorcery and witch- 
craft, under the popular and fascinating term, medium; 
as though there was something in its modern name 
capable of averting the indignation and judgments 
of God threatened on those who practised it under 
its ancient names. 

Idolatrous divinations arc common at the present 
day. Many very zealously believe that the new 
moon, seen for the first time over the right or left 
shoulder, is ominous of good or ill fortune until the 
next change. This generally proves true in proportion 
to the faith in the omen. The ancients divined by 
it, and by the stars and planets ; as also by the clouds, 
&c. But God has forbidden it. Others consult the 
moon's place, or signs, so called, in sowing or plant- 
ing, weaning calves, &c. These are the relics of 
heathen divination, and is a God-forbidden practice. 
In the light of science, nothing is more ridiculous. 
Since astronomers first gave the present names to the 
constellations of the zodiac, by the annual precession 
of the equinoxes, every sign has retrograded more 
than thirty degrees, or a whole sign, from its former 
position in the heavens ; and since, in the order of the 
signs, Aries (the head) precedes Pisces, (the feet,) the 
sign Aries is now iti the constellation of Pisces, (the 
feet.) So, when we say the sign is in the head, if it 
is really any where, it is in the feet. 

So also of Leo, (the heart.) The sign is said to 
be in the heart when the moon is in the constellation 
of Cancer, (the breast ;) and the astronomer knows 



240 



THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 



this difference ; but as the farmer does not always 
know it, his calves never find it out; so, if he turns 
them out to wean when he thinks the sign is in the 
heart, they will bleat just as well as though it was 
there. ' 

Again : the influence, if there is any, must come 
from the stars in the constellations; and they are 
known to be one hundred thousand times farther off 
than the diameter of the earth's orbit — a distance 
which chain lightning, darting round the equator of 
our earth eight times in a second, would be three 
years in passing over. Since it is admitted that light- 
ning has the most rapid motion of any thing in 
nature, the bleating influence coming from a star to a 
calf w r ould not affect him in less than three years 
after he was first turned out to wean. 

But it is often said, as the moon affects the ocean, 
why not our crops, and the different parts of the 
animal body ? It might as well be said, as the moon 
affects the ocean, why not the water in our springs 
and wells ? The fact is, her attraction affects the 
earth as a whole, and no more the water than the 
land. Plants and animals, as parts of the same 
great whole, are equally attracted according to their 
weight, twice alike in twenty-five hours; and since 
her special influence cannot be detected on so large 
an area as Lake Superior, it cannot be perceived on a 
bed of onions, a few acres of flax, or so small a thing 
as a calf. But if these things are so, it may be 
asked why astronomers still perpetuate the error, by 
giving in their almanacs the moon's place, first in the 
head, and so on to the feet. It should be understood 
that almanacs, like Peter Pindar's razors, are made to 
sell. Many people consult them as much to learn 



OPPOSITION LINB. 241 

where the sign is as for any thing else. The almanac 

maker knows better; bu1 he must sell his work, or he 
would not publish it ; and to make it a business 
matter, it must meet the whims of the public If 
the people did not believe in these things, they would 
no longer be found in almanacs. They are found 
there because many people believe them ; and the 
same believe them because they are found there. 
Just like many false doctrines of religion ; none can 
be so false but that somebody will preach it ; and 
because it is preached, somebody will believe it, and 
that because it is preached; while the only reason that 
it is preached is, because some people believe it. 

Such is the way of the world — " deceiving and 
being deceived.'' For instance : a man believing in 
error will not read a book, or hear a man preach, that 
does not sustain his views ; so he virtually offers a 
reward to any one who will deceive him or confirm 
him in his error; and in this money-loving world, 
somebody will do it. And now, as we value a thing 
in proportion to what it costs us, we are not apt to 
pay a large price for a thing, and then give it away. 
So a man who pays the greatest price for being 
deceived is less likely to give up his error, even if he 
can get the truth gratis. 
21 



242 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 



CHAPTER XV. 

PSYCHOLOGY A SUBJECT OF SCRIPTURE PROPHECY. — 
THE MAN OF SIN. — THE DEVIL. — CONCLUSIONS. 

"And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out 
of the mouth of .the dragon, and out of the mouth of 
the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 
For they are the spirits of devils working miracles, 
which go forth unto the kings of the earth, and of the 
whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great 
day of God Almighty." (Rev. xvi. 13, 14.) 

What the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet 
symbolize in this text is a matter of much speculation, 
and one that has given rise to many conflicting theo- 
ries. But as we intend to present facts in preference 
to creeds, it is sufficient for our purpose to consider 
them as three principal powers opposed to the pure 
gospel of Christ — viz., pagan power, false religious 
power, and false prophetic power. Now, call these 
what we may in theory, they are in effect symbol- 
ically the same. 

John saw three unclean spirits, like frogs, out of the 
mouth of these symbols. A frog is an unclean crea- 
ture. It is among the unclean things forbidden the 
Israelites to eat. (Lev. xi. 10. Deut. xiv. 10.) It lives 
in two elements, or spheres — air and mud. The frog- 
like doctrine of psychology teaches that the psyche is 
capable of living in the body and in the upper harmo- 
nial spheres. This we have shown in the ninth chap- 
ter of this work and elsewhere. It is also maintained 



OPPOSITION LINE. &4S 

by the advocates of psychology, that under its influence 
the psyche ascends to heaven, and yet without death. 
So, like the frog, it lives in the body, (the mud,) and in 
air, (the spirit world,) and does not suffer death in pass* 
ing from one sphere to the other. 

As to the doctrine of rapping- spiritualism, it is a 
medley of paganism, anti- Christianity, and false proph- 
ecy. That it is a retro gradation to heathenism we have 
abundantly shown, both from its ancient origin and 
principles, and that it is the greatest of all false proph- 
ecy. (See Chapter IV.) 

Its advocates themselves are not bashful in saying 
it is destined to usher in a new era far more glorious 
than any thing which has ever gone before it. As these 
things have been sufficiently shown in this work, we 
pass to the second part of the text. 

" For they are the spirits of devils working mira- 

"We have shown that they are the spirits of devils, — 

1st. By their mysterious deceptions, false pretensions 
to science, and consulting with the dead, &c. 

2d. By their tendency, which is evil, and only evil ; and 

3d. By the plain word of God. 

They are, therefore, emphatically, " the spirits of 
devils." 

The miracles they are working are the wonder and 
astonishment of the world. The going forth unto the 
kings of the earth and the whole world is having a 
remarkably rapid fulfilment.* 

* The following is from an Amherst (Mass.) paper, dated Friday 
morning, April 25, 1851 : — 

«« Destiny carefully calculated and set on paper. Astrology. The 
celebrated Dr. C. \V. Roback, professor of astrology, astronomy, 
thronology, and geomancy, combined with conjuration, from Sweden, 



244 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

" to gather them to the battle of that great 
day of God Almighty." 

This is the end of the " strong delusion" 

" Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that 
watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk 
naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them 
together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Ar- 
mageddon. And the seventh angel poured out his 
vial into the air ; and there came a great voice out of 
heaven, from the throne, saying,lT is done." 

The revelator has marked out the future pathway of 
the church of God from the first to the second advent 
of our Lord, the Alpha and Omega of the church in its 
seven states or conditions, represented by the seven 

office No. 71 Locust Street, Philadelphia, offers his services to the 
citizens of Amherst. He has been consulted by all the crowned heads 
of Europe, and enjoys a higher reputation as an astrologer than any 

— -». • ^ -mx .1 ... - - ■ - &**zg xo gcornancy — ladies 

$3, gentlemen $ 5. Persons at a distance can have their nativities 
drawn by sending the date of the day of their birth. All letters 
containing the above fee will receive immediate attention, and nativ- 
ities sent to any part of the world written on durable paper ; and he is 
prepared to make use of his power by conjuration on any of the fol- 
lowing topics : Courtship, advice given for the successful accomplish- 
ment of a wealthy marriage ; he has the power to redeem such as are 
given to the free use of the bottle ; and for all cases of hazard, and 
for the recovery of stolen or lost property, and the purchasing of lot- 
tery tickets. Thousands of the above-named cases have been done in 
this city and its vicinity, and in the United States, to the full satisfac- 
tion of all. Ten thousand nativities or horoscopes have been cast 
during the last four years while here. Letters will answer every pur- 
pose, and will do as well as to call in person ; and the mail is now so 
safe that persons need not fear to trust money through the post 
office. Dr. Roback receives from five hundred to one thousand 
letters monthly, and has never missed one. All letters will be reli- 
giously attended to if prepaid. For more particulars, call at the office 
of the Express, and get an astrological almanac gratis. 

C. W. Roback, 



OPPOSITION* LINE. 24f> 

churches o( Asia, with an express message to the angel 
(or minister) of each; and what he saw hi om- 

manded to write in a hook, and Bend to the seven 

churches /'// Asia, thai each church might know her 
whereabouts on the page of history, and also the pecu- 
liar trials and afflictions she would be called to ] 
through. And we cannot doubt but we are now in 
the Laodicean state; lukewarm, neither cold nor hot, 
saying, " I am rich, and increased in goods, and have 
need of nothing : n yet " wretched, and miserable, and 
poor, and blind, and naked."' 

As this is the state of the church militant, it must 
witness the pouring out of the seventh vial ; for there 
are seven, and to them is filled up the wrath of God. 
In this state of things will be seen three unclean spirits 
(the word coming- is not in the original) out of the 
mouth of the dragon, fee* and working miracles, which 
the world is now witnessing, and which will gather the 
kings of the earth and the whole world to the battle 
of that great day of God Almighty, which will be the 
last and most terrible conflict between Christ and Anti- 
christ, to be decided in favor of the former, by the 
pouring out of the seventh vial, which will destroy the 
power symbolized by the woman sitting on the scarlet- 
colored beast,* and all her attendant train ; when the 
final, victorious shout will be heard, " as the voice of a 
great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and 
as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia ; 
for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth." 

Some are expecting the great battle is soon to com- 
mence, and that the present unsettled state of Europe 
is the precursor of that event. But in the text it is 

• Out of the month of which came one of the frog-like spirits. 

21* 



246 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

denominated the " battle of that great day of God Al- 
mighty," not the battle of that great day of Europe. 

Though the European powers, and even the whole 
world, should join in one general conflict, it could not 
be the battle referred to in the text. For it must be 
fought in that " great day of the Lord ; " and he must 
be here to fight it. (See Rev. xix. 19.) Neither is 
the belligerent aspect of the nations a precursor of 
the immediate ushering in of that day. For the 
Savior, speaking of these things, said, " And ye shall 
hear of wars and rumors of wars : see that ye be not 
troubled ; for all these things must come to pass, but 
the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against 
nation, and kingdom against kingdom, &c. All these 
things are the beginning of sorrows," not the end 
of them. The expected outbreak in Europe may take 
place soon ; but " see that ye are not troubled, for the 
end is not yet." There is a greater battle to be fought 
at the end than which wicked nations alone are able 
to fight. Indeed, they cannot fight the battle of Ar- 
mageddon, for they are all on one side, and none left 
for them to fight against ; for it should be borne in 
mind that the battle of Armageddon is the Lord's 
battle, in which the two great armies will be, one for 
Christ, and the other for Antichrist, the man of sin. 

There is a prevalent opinion that in the " day of 
the Lord " there will be no fighting. But we appeal 
to the word : Zech. xiv., " Behold, the day of the 
Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the 
midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against 
Jerusalem to battle, &c. Then shall the Lord go 
forth, and fight against those nations, as when he 
fought in the day of battle." Now, as he fought in 
the day of battle, so he will fight again in the great 



OPPOSITION LINK. 247 

day of the Lord, when his (ret shall stand upon 
Mount Olives, which shall cleave asunder. 

When he led his people, under Joshua, into the 
land of promise, he fought and overthrew the wicked 
nations, and divided " the spoil in the midst of them." 
In like manner, it is affirmed in the text that he will 
light again in the day of the Lord. His army, again, 
will be his holy people, and his enemies, as before, 
the wicked nation, practising the same sins for which 
he drove out the Canaanites, viz., sorcery, witchcraft, 
necromancy, and kindred evils, just what is now fill- 
ing up the cup of the iniquity of the world. As is 
the type, so is the antitype. 

The children of Israel were a warlike people, 
trained to the use of arms in the wilderness ; fought 
their way into the land, and their greatest battles in 
the land. So the church of God is, and is called, a 
militant (fighting) church, and like the ancient Israel- 
ites, trusting in the Lord of hosts, will never lose a 
battle. 

The millions who are now sleeping in the dust, and 
who have " all died in faith, not having received the 
promise," will " stand upon their feet, an exceeding 
great army," and be brought into " the land of Is- 
rael," to Jerusalem ; against which, Zechariah says, all 
nations will be gathered to the battle, where the man 
of sin will be destroyed ; that is, taken alive and cast 
into the burning lake, together with the false prophet,* 
and a clean sweep be made of wicked nations. 

It is not difficult to see that the three prominent 
features so distinctly marked in the doctrine of rap- 



• Out of the mouth of which came another of the frog-like 
spirits. 



248 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

ping spiritualism, viz., paganism, anti- Christianity, and 
false prophecy, are hastening the world to one gen- 
eral decision against the Holy One of God. Already 
do we hear the Pharaoic question from almost all 
classes : " Who is the Lord, that I should obey his 
voice ? " The Deity is being analyzed both by rapping 
spiritualism and electro and mundane philosophism, 
and is found by the analysis of both to be nothing 
but the material universe ; and, sure enough, " Who 
is the Lord that I should obey his voice?" He can- 
not prove himself to be " the God of the Hebrews " by 
his miracles ; for mundane agency, electricity, or some 
such thing can work all these miracles as well as he. 

The devil, too, has been put through the same crazy 
crucible, and found to be nothing but the necessary 
animal propensities of our natures. 

This is the greatest and most enchanting lullaby 
that Satan ever sung. It is quieting the consciences 
of men into a nap that nothing but the din of the 
great battle of God Almighty will arouse them from. 
Let those who can discern the face of the sky discern 
the signs of the times ; for it is not too late to talk 
of the divine authenticity of the Bible, while the very 
elements put in requisition to overthrow it are literally 
fulfilling it. 

While rapping spiritualism is pushing a little against 
it with infidel horns, menacing the world with Egyp- 
tian darkness, electro and mundane agency have come 
against it like a battering ram, threatening to carry all 
before them, and to reduce the universe, with its Cre- 
ator, to a heap of chaos "worse confounded." And 
while the former has taken the open field, and com- 
menced the seige, the latter have retired behind a 
fortification of science, (falsely so called,) and opened 



OPPOSITION LINE. 249 

a heavier and more deadly fire upon the same object, 
under pretence of repulsing the open-field besieger. 

TIIE MAX OF SIX. 

" Now, W( h you, brethren, by the coming of 

our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together 
unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be 
troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter 
as from as, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 

" Let no man deceive you by any means ; for that 
day shall not come, except there come a falling away 
first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of per- 
dition ; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all 
that is called God, or that is worshipped ; so that he, as 
God, sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself 
that he is God. 

'- Remember ye not, that when I was yet with you, 
I told you these things ? And now ye know what 
withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. 

"For the mystery of iniquity doth already work ; 
only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out 
of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, 
whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his 
mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his 
coming: even him, whose coming is after the work- 
ing of Satan, with all power, and signs, and lying 
wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteous- 
- in them that perish ; because they receive not the 
love of the truth, that they might be saved. 

" And for this cause God shall send them strong 
delusion, that they should believe a lie : that they all 
might be damned who believe not the truth, but had 
pleasure in unrighteousness." (2 Thess. ii. 1-12.) 



250 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

Protestants have said this man of sin is Papacy, 
the little horn of Daniel ; whilst Papists say it is 
Protestantism. But it cannot be either, for several 
reasons. His revelation is to be preceded by, or ac- 
companied with, a falling away. Now, at the rise of 
Papacy or Protestantism, there was no remarkable 
falling away more than when a hundred false systems 
or creeds arose. The church has always had her 
declensions and revivals to a certain degree ; but 
there must, somewhere, be emphatically a falling 
away — one that must be more distinctly marked than 
any other, else it could not be recognized by the 
church as the one the apostle referred to ; and he 
evidently spoke of it as one which they ivould recog- 
nize when it should come. In the present Laodicean, 
lukewarm state there is a decided falling away, and 
one that is rapidly progressing, and without a parallel. 
Not only the church is cold, but her power sccui 
paralyzed. Though revivals are not unfrequent, yet 
she seems, by going with her flocks and herds (her 
pride and riches) to the Lord, to have dealt treach- 
erously with him, and to have begotten strange chil- 
dren, which a month seems to devour with their 
portions ; while many need reconverting before the 
end of a month. Nor does the church seem doing as 
much towards converting the world as the world is 
doing towards converting the church, in which it has 
so far succeeded as to bring her down nearly or quite 
to a level with the world. The almost total want of 
faith in the word of God is peculiar to the present 
age, both in the church and in the world, the effect of 
which is seen in every direction — in the general dis- 
regard to moral principles, in the insubordination to 
government, in the disobedience of children to parents, 



OPPOSITION LINE. 251 

and want c£ reverence to the aged — the want of 
pqnfidenoe between man and man, in all classes, from 
the highest to the lowest. Every thing in a religious 
or moral point of view seems to be at loose ends. 
Many who most pretend to faith in the word of God 
have spiritualized every truth out of it, in order to 
make it bend to certain creeds, and thereby made it a 
laughingstock to infidels. The man of sin cannot be 
Papacy for another reason. When revealed, it is to 
be a man — not a boy or child. If Papacy is the 
man of sin, when was it the child of sin? for it must 
be a child before it is a man. 

If Paul alluded to Papacy at all, we can consider 
it the child of sin, as it introduced those false doc- 
trines which are the foundation of psychology, and, 
when mature*!, will make the man. 

But Papacy is not yet the man, for another reason. 
In the person of its head, the pope, he never exalted 
himself above all that is called God, but says he is a 
servant of servants ; neither did he ever sit in the 
temple of God. His seat has always been at Rome; 
while the temple of God has been, and will ever be, at 
Jerusalem. 

Ps. Ixxxii. 13-18 : " For the Lord hath chosen 
Zion ; he hath desired it for his habitation. This is 
my rest forever. Here will I dwell, for I have desired 
it," &c. And that Jerusalem is represented, is evident 
from Ps. cxlvii. 12, 13. And that Christ will yet 
take David's throne and kingdom, is evidently a mat- 
ter of prophecy. (See Is. ix. 6, 7. Luke i. 31-33. 
Ezek. xxi. 25-27.) The literal throne of David is 
the one Christ will yet take. David's spiritual throne 
(if he ever had one) was never " overturned, and over- 
turned, and overturned ; " but his literal throne has 



252 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

been, and Christ will take it. But when he comes 
there will be two claimants to it, himself and the man 
of sin, who will be on it, in the temple of God, ex- 
alting himself above all that is called God. His 
coming " is after the w T orking of Satan, with all 
poiver, and signs, and lying wonders, and with all 
deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish, 
because they receive not the love of the truth, that 
they might be saved. And for this cause God shall 
send them strong delusion, that they should believe a 
lie : that they all might be damned who believe not 
the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." This 
is the man of sin — the full-grown Antichrist. There 
can be no second revelation of Christ till there is a 
revelation of Antichrist. One is as much a matter 
of prophecy as the other ; and although heaven and 
earth shall pass away, not one jot or tittle of the 
word will fail. 

Now, we need no Daniel to tell us that psychology 
is paving the way to the man of sin, " whose coming 
is after the working of Satan, with all power, and 
signs, and lying wonders." It is to be expected he 
will deceive, if possible, the very elect ; as it is said 
he will all whose names are not written in the book 
of life. 

The strong delusion is rapidly driving men into the 
valley of decision, where they are taking sides — the 
great mass for Antichrist, the few for Christ. 

The advocates of rapping spiritualism pretend that 
no one has yet arrived at perfection in these things. 
What, then, may we expect of one perfected in these 
mysteries ? Nothing less than one qualified to work 
Christ-like miracles, as far as miracle is concerned. 
Now, in the present rapid tendency of the world to 



OPPOSITION LINK. 253 

pantheism and infidelity, such a one might success- 
fully proclaim himself to be God, that is, the Lord 
God, saying he is all the God then is, and setting 
himself in the temple of God, and saying, also, " I will 
be their God, and they shall be my people," and that 
those who will not have him to rule over them he will 
destroy. It is unerring prophecy that such a personage 
will yet arise, and continue forty and two months, 
when he will be destroyed by the rightful heir of the 
throne. 

Rapping spiritualism and philosophical pantheism 
are fast ripening the world to worship just such an im- 
postor, whose character will be the exact opposite to 
that of Jesus Christ. And as the fulness of the Godhead 
dwells in the one, so will the fulness of the devil dwell 
in the other. One is God incarnate, the other is the 
devil incarnate. And before the former can take the 
throne of his father David, it must be occupied by 
the latter. 

THE DEVIL. 

9 

" Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the 
devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom 
he may devour." (1 Pet. v. 8.) 

There seems to be a growing tendency among men 
to doubt every thing that cannot be scientifically de- 
monstrated, leaving little or no room for the exercise 
of faith, which "is the evidence of things not Been** 
and without which "it is impossible to please God.* 
The miraculous birth of our Savior, the atonement, 
the resurrection of the dead, &c, are often doubted 
because they cannot be demonstrated by science. So 
also, because the grappling irons of human wisdom 
cannot be fastened upon his satanic majesty, and his 

22 



254 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

origin, his maker, and use be discovered, his existence 
is often doubted. 

Now, it is written, " The just shall live by faith." If 
we believe nothing except what we can demonstrate, 
we have no spiritual life, and shall not have life in the 
world to come. " Who is the devil ? " is often asked. 
Peter says he is "your adversary." But popular opin- 
ion is saying he is our " evil propensities," given us 
for some wise purpose. 

But who can demonstrate this good and wise pur- 
pose ? There is no better evidence of it than there is 
of a devil. 

It is said God did not create him, because he cannot 
be the author of evil. Yet it is admitted that man has 
evil in his heart; and it may be asked, Who created it? 
It cannot be God, as, in the former argument, he is not 
the author of evil ; and it cannot be man, for he cannot 
create any part of his own nature. But still it exists; 
and the same sophistry which proves there is no devil, 
proves there is no evil : the same which proves there is 
no devil but evil, proves there is no God but goodness. 

But what idea could Peter have of a man's evil pro- 
pensities "as a roaring lion, walking about, seeking 
whom they may devour " ? 

To deny the existence of an evil in some mode of 
being, is to deny the evidence of our sober senses. 

Even rapping spiritualists admit there are wicked 
spirits, and that their mediums are often deceived by 
them ; but they say they are the spirits of dead men. 
But there is no more proof that they are such than 
there is that they are devils, only as one is believed to 
exist, and the other is not. 

Now, there is nothing gained by denying the exist- 
ence of the ancient devil and substituting a modern 



OPPOSITION LINE. . 256 

one, endowed with all the powers and attributes of the 
old one. But, " to the law and to the testimony : " these 
will settle the question whether there is a devil or not. 

and whether he is electricity, od force, wicked spirits 
of men, or old Satan himself. 

Let the reader take his Bible and read the following 
texts, substituting "the evil propensities of man" for 
the words devil, Satan, serpent, &c, and see if the 
Scriptures, so read, would give the popular idea of a 
devil. We will begin with Gen. iii. 1 : " Now the 
evil propensities of man were more subtile than any 
beast of the field which the Lord God had made." 
"And they said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely 
die." "And the woman said, My evil propensities 
beguiled me, and I did eat. And the Lord God said 
unto her evil propensities, Because ye have done this, 
ye are cursed above all cattle, and above every beast 
of the field; and your evil propensities shall go upon 
their bellies, and eat dust all the days of their lives 

Now, here were three active, intelligent agents, viz., 
the man, the woman, and the serpent ; each of which 
was guilty, and so considered. And that the devil is 
sometimes called " the serpent," may be seen by read- 
ing Rev. xii. 9; xx. 2. Again, (Matt. iv. 1:) "Then 
as Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be 
tempted of his evil propensities" "And when his evil 
propensities came unto him, they said, If thou be the 
son of ( • imand these stones to be made bread." 

"Then his evil propensities taketh him up into the 
holy city." " J< 1 unto them, It is written again. 

Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." 

Matt. ix. 32 : -And as they went out, behold, they 
brought to him a dumb man ted with his evil 

propensity >. And when they were cast out, the dumb 



256 • THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

spake. But the Pharisees said, He casteth out evil 
propensities through the prince of evil propensities" 
Matt. xxv. 41 : " Depart from me, ye cursed, into ever- 
lasting fire, prepared for your evil propensities and their 
angels." 

Luke iv. 33: "And in the synagogue there was a 
man which had a spirit of an unclean evil propensity" 
Matt. viii. 31 : " So the evil propensities of the man be- 
sought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go 
away into the herd of swine." John vi. 70 : "Jesus an- 
swered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of 
you is man's evil propensity?" Heb. ii. 14: "That 
through death he might destroy him that hath the power 
of death, which is, the evil propensities of men." (See 
also Jude. ix. and Job i. 6.) The account of Satan, in 
the first chapter of Job, does not seem much like an 
evil, but more like an evil being. How is it in Luke x. 
18 ? — "I beheld the evil propensities of men as lightning 
fall from heaven." 2 Cor. xi. 15 : "And no marvel; 
for the evil propensities of men are transformed into 
angels of light. Therefore it is no great thing if (their) 
ministers also be transformed as the ministers of right- 
eousness." Rev. xii. 7 : "And there was war in heaven : 
Michael and his angels fought against the evil propen- 
sities of men; and they fought and their angels, and 
prevailed not; neither was their place found anymore 
in heaven. And they were cast out (of heaven,) that 
old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which de- 
ceiveth the whole world : they were cast out into the 
earth, and their angels were cast out with them." 

Verse 12 : " Woe to the inhabiters of the earth, and 
the sea ! for the evil propensities of men are come down 
unto you, having great wrath, because they know they 
have but a short time." Zech. iii. 1 : "And he 



OPPOSITION LINE. 307 

showed me Joshua the high pries! standing before the 
angel of the Lord, <\wi\ the evil pro/ of men 

standing at bis rigU hand to resist him." 

How is this ! Mediums tell us that good spirits 
come up on the right hand, and evil ones on the left 
But Zeehariah saw Satan standing at the right hand. 
Mediums should look into this, for what they call good 
spirits may be devils, after all. 

In the same manner the reader may read Rev. xvi. 
13, 14. Rom. xvi. -20. Rev. xx. 10. Luke viii. 2. 
James ii. 19. Rev. xviii. 2. Ps. eix. 6, u Set thou 
a wieked man over him ; and let Satan stand at his 
right hand." 

Here Satan again is at the right hand ; which seems 
to be his place. He cannot, therefore, be the spirit of 
a dead man, or his place would be on the left. 

But we forbear : further quotations are unnecessary. 
Those who deny the existence of the devil should be 
aware that very few. if any. serve him who do believe 
in his existence. 

In taking a general view of the subject, the follow- 
ing difficulties naturally present themselves. If there 
is no devil but wickedness in men, who are the angels 
of this wickedness ? and who is the prince of it ? A 
prince implies subordinates ; and angels are ministers 
unto something that can be ministered unto. Now. if 
it be replied that man has one ruling passion to which 
the others are subordinate, then what inflames that 
ruling passion ? It must be the angels that minister 
unto it; and if these are the evil propensities of num. 
we have not found the origin of evil yet Again : 
the devil iras. or is to !>• n. If he is 

the evil propensities of men, how came he in heaven? 
But it may be said that heaven, in the text, in< 
22 



£58 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

the church. It is then evident the devil is not cast 
out, nor has the war yet commenced which is to cast 
him out. But when he is cast out, the warfare of the 
church is forever ended ; for John says, when he saw 
him cast out, his place was found no more in heaven. 
But when this takes place, the church will be no more 
a militant church, but triumphant; and at the same 
time, twelve hundred and sixty days, or, as some say, 
years, the devil will be in the earth ; which must mean 
the unconverted, if heaven means the church. 

It will readily be seen that such a view of the devil 
would be very difficult to harmonize with the doctrine 
of the millenium, past or future. If it is future, and the 
devil is the wickedness of men, there will be one thou- 
sand two hundred and sixty years, instead of a thousand, 
during which there will be the wicked remaining on 
earth. It would seem, then, that the heaven in the 
text is not the church, but the heaven of the church, 
in which there is no evil propensities of men, but a 
devil to be cast out in the last days, and to come down 
to the earth with great wrath, knowing he has but a 
short time — one thousand two hundred and sixty lit- 
eral days. 

But it is not intended in this work to give an ex- 
planation of the symbolic language used by the reve- 
lator, further than to show, that, to be consistent with 
itself, the devil cannot be the evil propensities of men, 
notwithstanding the popular idea to the contrary. 
Holy men of old believed in his existence as a being ; 
their prophets taught them so, and Christ confirmed it. 
But through psychology, table tipping, mundane agen- 
cy, &c, it has been discovered that there is none. 
Wise, indeed, must be that race of men whose very 
tables know who is the best medium in a room. I 



■POSITION LINE. 

wonder if Daniel's old table knew as much? But 
■oppose this is all science, and no devil; what has 
science been about ever since creation, that she has not 
revealed these things before ! 

Moses and the prophets, we are told by spiritualists, 
Were <j;ood mediums ; and the former carried his rod in 
his hand, and we never hear of its being charged, or of 
his biking a rich* on it. As it is admitted there were 
good mediums of old, if there is any law of nature 
about these things, it would have shown itself occa- 
sionally through them. They were constantly coming 
in contact with wooden tables, stools, or seats, sandals, 
&c. Why did they not charge them so that they 
would walk off without hands, as at the present day ? 
But no ; men were not able to give torpid shocks to 
wooden things, until they discovered that there was no 
dkvil. 

CONCLUSIONS. 

We come now to take a general view of the whole 
subject, and from its principal features draw our con- 
clusions ; and, — 

1st. Jt is evident that mesmerism, psychology, clair- 
voyance, ecstasy, spiritual manifestations, rapping, and 
table tipping are but different phases of the same thing, 
which must all stand or fall together. 

2d. That it is the mysterious power of Imagination, 
and that it dor- not present any stronger evidence to 
the senses than she has frequently been known to do. 

3d. That its tendency is to infidelity, pantheism, and 
finally to atheism. 

4th. That it is a direct attempt of the devil to ex- 
tinguish the few remaining sparks of faith in the word 
of God, and to confirm his first falsehood — M Ye shall 
not surely die." 



260 THE SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC 

5th. That it is a direct and literal fulfilment ol divine 
revelation. 

6th. That it is an abomination in the sight of God, 
and a manifest result of the moral depravity of human 
nature. 

7th. That it is paving the way to the " man of sin," 
and greater wonders may yet be expected of it. 

8th. That it is " the spirits of devils working mira- 
cles, and going forth unto the kings of the earth, and 
to the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that 
great day of God Almighty." 

9th. That it is an evidence of the proximity of that 
great day. 

10th. That it is emphatically the " strong delusion " 
which is to deceive all whose names are not " written 
in the book of life." 

But it may be said that these conclusions are pre- 
maturely drawn, and that the thing has already passed 
its meridian, and is beginning to decline. We are 
aware there is not as much public show made of it at 
present as a few months since. But how has it declined ? 
Have any of its advocates renounced it and gone back 
and embraced the religion of Jesus Christ ? No ; nor 
does it appear that their faith in it, as a general thing, 
is in the least shaken ; and while they have relaxed a 
little in the public display of it, they are gaining strength 
in their private cabals. To their evening sittings there 
is less public admission ; but still a few friendly ones are 
admitted, and the number of believers is still increas- 
ing. The thing has only retired a little from the public 
to gather strength in private. We trust the facts pre- 
sented in this work will commend themselves to the 
candid, and that the reader will weigh them, and, by the 



OPPOSITION LINE. 261 

word of God and his grace, bo enabled to draw hi* 
own conclusions. 

In arriving at a just decision on this subject, much 
depends on whether then* is ;i devil or not; as imagi- 
nation, without satanic agency, cannot do all that is 
said to be done by spiritual agency. Take, for in- 
stance, the stones thrown at a house in Paris, described 
on page 177. 

Now, the argument of spiritualists on this subject is 
this: If an angel, which is spirit, could roll away the 
stone from the sepulchre, the spirits of the dead can 
throw one through the air, tip tables, &c. 

But, in the first place, there is no proof that the angel 
referred to was the spirit of a dead man. 

Now, it is admitted that the stones thrown in Paris 
were by evil spirits. And according to their own logic, 
if they cannot prove that the angel that rolled away 
the stone from the sepulchre was the spirit of a dead 
man, they cannot prove that the spirits that threw the 
stones are spirits of dead men. 

It is admitted that God is supreme ; and we have 
shown that there is an order of beings intermediate 
between him and man ; for Christ was made a little 
lower than the angels. Now, since God is God, and 
there is none like him, (Is. xlvi. 9,) of every grade of 
rational beings beneath him, some must be good, and 
some bad. Then there must be bad angels as well as 
good ones. This is no greater mystery than that there 
should be good and bad men ; and unless there can be 
bad angels, there can be no bad men. 

From the nature of the case, it is therefore very pos- 
sible that there is a devil ; and from divine revelation 
it is very certain there is one, yea, many. 

Now, since there are wicked angels or devils, and 



262 SPIRITUAL TELEGRAPHIC OPPOSITION LINE. 

since a good angel can roll a stone, bad ones, or devils, 
may throw them. The reader has the account of the 
stones being thrown in Paris, the tipping of tables, &c, 
as cheap as the author. What, therefore, is not done 
by an aberration of mind, ^if done at all,) is done by 
the devil, who is as able to do it as the angel of the 
Lord was to roll away the stone from his sepulchre. 

That the reader may keep that which is committed 
to his trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and 
oppositions of science falsely so called, which some 
professing have erred concerning the faith, is the prayer 
of the author. And seeing ye know these things, be- 
ware lest you, also, being led away with the error of 
the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness. But 
grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and 
Savior Jesus Christ, to whose abundant mercy we 
commend you, beseeching you to abide in his word 
Shun every appearance of evil, and watch unto prayer, 
that you may escape the strong delusion of these 
last days, and stand at the right hand of the Son of 
man when he shall come in his glory, and receive the 
welcome invitation — "Come, ye blessed of my Fa- 
ther, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the 
foundation of the world." 



APPENDIX. 



It is a strongly-marked characteristic of man, that 
though he may make never a more candid decision on 
passing events, yet, when passed, and he takes a retro- 
spective view of them, they frequently wear an entirely 
different aspect. There are, no doubt, several causes 
for this ; one of which, and not the least, is, present 
popular opinion, which more or less influences almost 
every individual. Indeed, a man, associated with his 
fellow-man, can scarcely possess human attributes 
without being more or less under this influence. 
Again : passing events seldom produce that cool de- 
liberation of mind necessary to a just decision that 
the contemplation of them in the past does. 

From these and like considerations, I have thought 
it best to present the reader with a specimen of mes- 
merism, or something allied to it, in the past. I refer 
to "the Salem witchcraft," many features of which 
have a striking resemblance to what is now passing 
under the appellation of mesmerism, table tipping, &c., 
a specimen of which may be found in " Mather's 
History of New England," Book vi., page 68, as 
follows : — 

" In the year 1679, the house of William Morse, at 
Newbury, was infested with demons in a most horrid 

(263) 



264 APPENDIX. 

manner, not altogether unlike the demons of Ted- 
worth. It would fill many pages to relate all the in- 
festations, but the chief of them were such as these: 
Bricks, sticks, and stones were often by some invisible 
hand thrown at the house, as were many pieces of 
wood. A cat \va tl n* vk at thj woman of the house, 
and a long staff' danced up and down in the chimney, 
and afterwards was hung by a line, and swung to and 
fro ; and when two persons laid it on the fire to burn 
it, it was as much as they were able to do with their 
joint strength to hold it there. An iron crook was 
violently, by an invisible hand, hurled about; and a 
chair flew about the room, until at last it lit upon the 
table, where the meat stood ready to be eaten, and had 
spoiled all if the people had not, with much ado, saved 
a little. A chest was by an invisible hand carried from 
one place to another, and the doors barricaded, and the 
keys of the family taken, some of them from the 
bunch where they were tied, and the rest flying about 
with a loud noise of their knocking against each other. 
For a while the folks of the house could not sup 
quietly, but ashes would be thrown into their suppers* 
and on their heads and clothes; and the shoes of a 
man being left below, one of them was filled with 
ashes and sent up after him. When they were in bed, 
a stone weighing above three pounds was divers times 
thrown upon them. A box and a board were likewise 
thrown upon them ; and a bag of hops was taken out 
of the chest by the invisible hand, and they were beaten 
with it, till some of the hops were scattered on the 
floor, where the bag was then laid and left. The man 
was often struck by that hand with several instru- 
ments ; and the same had cast their good things into 
the fire. While the man was at prayer with his 



APPENDIX. 265 

household, a broom gave him a blow on his head be- 
hind, and then fell down before his {<ier. When they 
were winnowing their barley, dirt was thrown at them; 
and essaying to ±111 their half bushel with corn, the 
foul corn would be thrown in with the clean, so irre- 
bly that they were forced thereby to give over what 
they were about. While the man was writing, his 
inkhorn the invisible hand, snatched from him, 

and being able nowhere to find it, he at length saw it 
drop out of the air down by the fire. A shoe was laid 
upon his shoulder; but when he would have caught it, 
it was snatched from him and laid upon his head, 
where he held it so fast that the unseen fury pulled 
him with it backwards on the floor. He had his cap 
torn off his head, and in the night he was pulled by 
the hair, and pinched, and scratched : the invisible hand 
pricked him with some of his awls, and with needles 
and bodkins : and blows that fetched blood were some- 

es given him. When he was writing, another time, 
a dish went and leaped into a pail, and cast water on 
him, and on all the concerns before him, so as to defeat 
what he was then doing. His cap jumped off his head 
and on again, and the pot lid went off the pot into the 
kettle, then over the fire together." 

Speaking of a boy belonging to the family, it is 
said, — 

" All the knives belonging to the house were one 
after another stuck into his back, which the spectators 
pulled out ; only one of which seemed to them to come 
out of his mouth." 

Farther on a few pages, we find an account of sev- 
eral accused of witchcraft, who made the following 
confessions before the magistrates in court: — 

" Goodv F. said that she, with two others, (one of 
23 



266 APPENDIX. 

whom acknowledged the same,) rode from Andover to 
the same village (S&lem) witch meeting on a stick, above 
the ground, and that in the way the stick broke and 
gave her a fall, by which she was hurt, and still sore." 
" I happened," said Mather, " to be present in prison 
when this F. owned again her former confession to the 
magistrates. I asked her if she rode to the meeting on 
a stick. She said, " Yes." It was not long before M. L., 
daughter of the said F., confessed that she rode with 
her mother to the witch meeting, and confirmed her 
mother's confession. At another time, M. L., junior, 
the granddaughter, aged about seventeen years, con- 
fessed what her grandmother and mother had related ; 
and when they, with E. C, rode on a stick or pole in 
the air, she, (the granddaughter,) with B. C, rode upon 
another ; and the said B. C. acknowledged the same." 
Such are but a few of many similar occurrences 
which took place in this memorable time of wonders, 
which prevailed to such an extent that nineteen were 
executed. And besides many who were imprisoned, 
more were accused, while the numbers afflicted were 
still increasing. But it was finally seen that every 
legal effort made to arrest the evil only increased the 
number of victims, till, perhaps, profiting by the expe- 
rience of several European nations, public sentiment 
began to call for a different mode of procedure ; and 
William Phips, then governor, granted a pardon to 
such as were condemned, and a release to those in 
prison, which soon put an end to the singular affair. 
But it was not confined to New England alone : about 
that time, in Suffield, in England, in the year 1645, it 
prevailed, and was followed up by prosecutions, until 
they saw that, unless they put a stop to them, "it 
would bring all into blood and confusion." It also 



APPENDIX. 

prevailed in Prance until nine hundred wore put 
to death. In looking hack upon this subject, it is 
difficult to lind people, at the present time, who arc 

willing to believe that all these strange things really 
took place. Bur when we speai of the present mys- 
terious movement of tables and chairs for proof, we 
are referred to the evidence of our senses. But had 
not the people who lived at Salem and vicinity, nearly 
two hundred years ago, senses as well as those now 
living ? 

Shall we presume to say that the people who pulled 
the knives from the boy's back did not know whether 
they were in it or not, or whether they drew them out 
of it or not ? Why are such things to be doubted 
because they are said to have taken place yesterday 
rather than if they are said to take olace to-dav ? JJ- 
good reason can be given ; yet every man insists on 
believing his own senses, though he takes the liberty 
to doubt those of every man but his own. The peo- 
ple who lived two hundred years ago might as well 
trust their senses as the people who now live. Yet it 
is generally admitted that Imagination played a very 
conspicuous part in the Salem witchcraft. Then cer- 
tainly we ought not to deny her agency in mesmerism, 
the mysteries of which bear so near a resemblance to 
those of the tin -peak of. It is said a few indi- 

viduals in our day have taken a ride on a table moved 
with unseen hands; and the proof is, the evidence of 
our senses. 

But there wei al of the accused, as just re- 

lated, who confessed that I le from Andover to 

Salem through the air on a Btick or pole. And what 
ill more singular, these confessions were made in 
court before which they were tried, and for which they 



268 APPENDIX. 

were condemned to suffer death.* Now, if the evi- 
dence of the senses cannot bear false witness, these 
individuals would not have been condemned. In this 
instance, we must either admit the evidence of the 
senses to be false and absurd, or that these women did 
actually ride miles through the air on a stick. 

I have witnessed a multitude of cases equally as 
singular, in which clairvoyants have imagined them- 
selves riding, flying, or sailing through the air with 
more than railroad speed ; and in that state would so 
affirm, I have no doubt, at the expense of their lives. 
There is a still further striking resemblance between 
clairvoyants and those who made this confession ; that 
is, the former, on returning to the normal state, lose 
all knowledge of what they say or do in the abnormal ; 
'^'hile the latter, after being pardoned, and the excite- 
ment over, nearly all denied all knowledge of what 
they confessed, or of ever making a confession of any 
kind, or of ever going to a witch meeting. A few only 
said they had belied themselves and others ; but it 
does not appear that even these were conscious at the 
time of what they were doing. They were all, un- 
doubtedly, mesmerized, not by the present passes, but 
by the excitement created by the marvellous times in 
which they lived. 

It is remarkable that those who ivere executed 
seemed to be the least under the influence of the gen- 
eral aberration of mind. All of them persisted in their 
innocence even to their death. 

It is truly melancholy to reflect on these circum- 
stances, inasmuch as we see the disastrous effects Im- 
agination produced in those by-gone days ; and not 

* They were condemned principally on their own confessions ; 
however, they were not executed, but pardoned by Governor Phips. 



Al'l'K\l>l\. 

much tl !i;ii in 1: age 

aa little is known or realized o( her illusive pov. 

bile we see the learned and the wise build- 
rs to bei everlasting tame, or 
electro and odyle monuments to her glory, 
with all th,e zeal and ardor of a Buddha devotee. 

But we are told that the progress of seienee is u on- 
ward and upward;" and since even the Deity him- 
cannot be encircled in its philosophical folds, he n> 
ounted among the things which belong only to 
darker ages of the world. People are not generally 
aware of the liability of being deceived by external 
appearances, which, if illusive, produce a correspond- 
ing internal sensation. For instance, a train of cars 
arrives at a depot and gradually stops, while anothei 
is moving by in the opposite direction. This calls the 
attention of the passenger to that side, to the train 
in motion, which he verily thinks is at rest, and hfte 
own is passing by it. In this case he is not only de- 
ceived by outward appearances, but he feels also an 
internal evidence of an onward motion while he i- 
perfectly at rest. But on casting his eye out on the 
other side on objects at rest, his judgment is instanth 
corrected, and his internal sense of motion as instantly 
ceases. This is but one of the many very common 
s of the illusory play of imagination, in which are 
engaged the senses of seeing and feeling. 

Now, the motion of the table is said to be felt as Well 
-een in what is called the "tipping experim< 
But Professor Farraday has of late, by several ingenious 
experiments, demonstrated that they do not move b\ 
an unseen agent. The length of his ar* i 
that it cannot be given here; but it may be found 
the " London Athenaeum," of Saturday, July 2, i 
23 • 



270 APPENDIX. 

It appears that among other things used by the pro- 
:r in h: an inc. gned to 

show -whether the table moved first, or the hand 
moved before the table, or both moved or remained at 
ether. 91 In this ease, he says. - Sect was 

never carried far enough to move the tables; for the 
motion of the index corrected the judgment of the 
experimenter, who became aware that inadvertently a 
side force had been exc 

I : er doubted the real motion of a table u 

d it. It was common to one or two of my 
clairvoyants to move a table by placing the hand on, 
by which they said they charged or electrified it so as 
to produce a mighty attraction betw and the 

hand. But after repeated experiments. I ascertained 
: it was i For. after a little prac und 

I could move a small stand, by placing ill g er ou 

it, as well as my clairvoyants, and that it was not 
necessary to be in the abnormal sTate to perform 
the feat. 

To insure sue all but light stand should be 

chosen, having, by the ; i small base 

in proportion to its height to stand on : and by placing 
a finger on the top. nearly over its centre of gravity. 
pressing downward and laterally, it will be thrown out 
of balance, as it were, and stand on one or two I 
and by suddenly bringing back the lateral pressure 
centre of gravity will again be thrown on to one or 
other legs ; and so may be made to walk 
all over the room, and appear to follow the hand. But 
when one can be mac art off and go without 

hands. I shall believe those ladies did actually ride 
from Andovr iem on a stick through the air. 

And next, if it can be proved that a natural agent is 



APPENDIX. 271 

employed In such cases, I shall believe that the time 
is not far distant when the air will be filled with aerial 
cars, transporting passengers, freight, and baggage 
from and to every place on the globe, and to the neigh- 
boring planets. 

Though it be admitted that the people of this age 
are a scientific people, yet they are beside themselves; 
much learning has made them mad. Give me a 
knowledge of a law of nature by which these things 
are (said to be) done, and I hold myself in readiness 
immediately to build and run such a car from here to 
the moon to begin with. 



INDEX. 



PAOK 

Aberration of mind, * 16 

Ancient Egyptian mesmerism, 188 

Ancient sorcery, * * ' 

Angel seen by John the revelator, 63 

Animal instinct, 204 

Answered according to divinations 233 

Anti-Bible convention at Hartford, 112 

Anton Mesmer, memoirs of, 21 

Apparent polarity of subjects, 28 

Apparitions always appear clothed, 64 

Apparitions of living persons, 64 

Appearances deceitful, 104 

Appendix, 263 

Arcturus, apparent motion of, 103 

Armageddon, battle of, 246 

Box brought by a spirit, 181 

Bruno, disclosures by, 171 

tin Mcintosh, spirit of, 64 

Catalepsy, 43 

( 'erebral lucidity, 95 

Clairvoyance, 38, 48 

Clairvoyance, anticipations of, 45 

Conclu.-i on », 259 

Deductions. Moral argument. Conclusion, 208 

Different phenomena of mesmerism, 35 

Divination, 221 

Dods's theory, 69 

(273) 



274 INDEX. 

Dods's theory refuted, 83 

Double life in man, 167 

Br. Franklin, spirit of, 146 

Dr. Roback, 243 

Ellen White's visions, 191 

Einina, an English clairvoya t, 39 

Emma detects a thief, 40 

Emma describes the moon, . 50 

Enchanter, .\ 221 

Evil spirits, proof of, 170 

Extasis or trance, 38 

Fantasy, 37 

First mesmeric circle, , 32 

French commissioners examine Mesmer's experiments, 24 

French prophets, 190 

God is not the God of the dead, but of the living, 128 

God's displeasure with those who go after familiar spirits, 234 

Gold-leaf electrometer, 30 

Gold seal brougiit by a spirit, ISO 

Haunted house in Xewbury, 283 

How to become a medium, witch, fortune teller, &c, 237 

Imagination, power of, 65 

Improved mode of going to heaven, 139 

Indian clairvoyants, 187 

Iron missiles thrown by spirits, 179 

" Kentucky revival," 121 

Magicians of Egypt, 17 

Man and beast, difference between, 196 

Mesmer's arrival in Paris -. 22 

Modern divination, 237 

Moon, influence and signs of, 239 

Naaman the leper, 189 

Natural and spiritual body, what ? 131 

Opinion of Elder J. S. White, 165 

Optical properties of light, 96 

Pacts, 175 

Papacy not the man of sin, 251 

Perkins's tractors, 25 



INDKX. 275 

Philadelpliia spirit rappers, 15 

Philosophy of charming, 184 

Possessions 173 

Professor Farraday's experiments on table tipping, 269 

Projectiles mysteriously thrown at a house in Pails, 177 

Rapid spread of spiritual manifestations, 162 

Review of the mundane theory, 196 

Salem witchcraft, 263 

Soul, properties of, 171 

Spectre seen at Hoosic Falls, 160 

Spirit a consulter with a familiar, 222 

Spirit rapping common to haunted houses, 106 

Steel plates magnetized, 21 

Table preaching, 150 

Tables, how made mediums, 147 

Table of prismatic colors, 97 

Talismans, 175 

The author's first acquaintance with mesmerism, 19 

The author's further experiments, 56 

The body a prison of the soul, 167 

The devil, 253 

The easiest way to account for it 183 

The man of sin, 249 

The secret of God is with them that fear him, 227 

The transfiguration, 62 

M The Watchman, " his opinion of table tipping, 152 

Three unclean spirits like frogs, 242 

Times, an observer of, 221 

Unity, 36 

Witchcraft forbidden, 235 

Witchcraft in Europe 166 

Witches, execution of, in Salem, 166 

Witches riding through the air on a stick, 265 













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